District Energy and Cooling Billing Solution

Background
Austin Energy is the nation’s eighth largest publicly owned electric utility and a department of the City of Austin. Their mission is to safely deliver clean, affordable, reliable energy and excellent customer service.

The District Energy and Cooling business unit (DEC) provides cooling services to approximately seventy customers in the Austin metro area and is expected to grow. Currently, their billing process is largely manual, prone to errors, and complex as more customers are served. This contract aims to implement a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that automates billing for these customers.

Work Details
The vendor will provide a cloud-based SaaS solution that automates the billing process for District Energy & Cooling customers. The system will replace the current manual spreadsheet-based process with an automated system that calculates monthly billing amounts accurately. Key requirements include:
- Ability for authorized users to perform mathematical calculations similar to Excel (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentage comparisons).
- Replication of billing formulas using inputs such as customer-specific contract terms and usage data.
- Manual updates to billing formulas by authorized users.
- Integration capabilities with OSIsoft PI Historian and Oracle CC&B systems.
- Calculation and application of annual rate adjustments based on customer-specific contracts.
- Initial loading of pertinent data into the new system without requiring additional integration.
- Scalability to accommodate future growth in customer base while adhering to data confidentiality protocols.

Period of Performance
The contract will remain in effect for an initial term of 12 months, with the possibility of extending for up to four additional 12-month periods at the City's discretion.

Place of Performance
The services will be performed remotely; no specific geographic location is provided for on-site work.