Meter contract extended through 2013

  • Published
  • By Jennifer McCabe
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  A five-year effort to plan, coordinate and install complex, advanced meter reading systems at major Air Force bases has reached a critical point in its timeline. The Government Services Administration has granted the Air Force Civil Engineer Center a contract extension beyond Sept. 5, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013, giving the Air Force four additional months to receive and accept AMRS equipment.

AMRS will provide enterprise tools to monitor and manage energy consumption in order to operate buildings as efficiently as possible and identify potential energy-saving opportunities. The systems will provide critical information required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Acceptance testing conducted in June identified several vulnerabilities.

"The contractor (Benchmark Construction Incorporated and TolTest) is working to plug those holes and ensure the fixes do not break other parts of the software package," said Paul Carnely, AFCEC AMRS program management office chief.

Carnley plans to send the package to the office of the Air Force Civil Engineer in mid-September and receive authority to operate. Once granted, the first two systems will be deployed at Beale AFB, Calif., and Altus AFB, Okla.

All bases under contract have had site assessments completed.

"The contractor went to the bases and gathered information on the meters, their location, the network and details such as whether the meters need radios or can use the local area network," said Carnley. "So far, the contractor has submitted four designs to the government for approval."

Carnley urges bases to review designs as quickly as possible and give comments back to AFCEC.

The contractor is developing a schedule recovery plan to complete the remaining bases by Dec. 31.

If funding allows, AFCEC can add the bases that were de-scoped by sequestration. There are also two 20-base options that can be awarded as long as the contract is still active. They would cost an estimated $7.5 million and $9.7 million.

"If the Air Force doesn't exercise the option, the contract ends at the end of the calendar year," said Carnley. "The Air Force will have to go back into the acquisition process, which can take 18 months, and prices will likely rise significantly."