The City of Palo Alto held a non-mandatory pre-proposal conference this morning for their opportunity for consulting services to develop a smart grid strategic plan for the City.

The City is soliciting proposals from qualified consultants to prepare a study evaluating smart grid technologies that could be cost effectively applied to the City's electric, gas, and water utilities. The City is pursuing the study to evaluate utility system improvements that will result in operational cost savings and environmental benefits to the residents and businesses in Palo Alto. The goal is to determine the smart grid applications and technologies that best meet the City's needs, determine the cost/benefits and feasibility of implementing new smart grid applications, and if an application is justified, develop an implementation plan for this application.

Aside from providing time to entertain questions from vendors intending to submit proposals, the City also confirmed that proposals remain due by 3:00 PM PST on November 10th, as well as stated that the contract type will be Not to Exceed and Time and Materials.