Agenda Information Sheet
DEPARTMENT: Denton Municipal Electric
CM/ ACM: Howard Martin
Date: August 8, 2016
SUBJECT
Title
Consider recommending approval for a three-year Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with SSP Innovations to provide professional services in aid of Denton Municipal Electric (DME)'s Operation Technology and related software systems. Texas Local Government Code 252.022(4) allows for an exemption to competitive requirements for the expenditure of funds for procurement for a personal, professional, or planning service. Approval is for an amount not to exceed $2,000,000.00. (PSA 6122)
Body
BACKGROUND
In the last decade, the electric utility industry has seen an increase of available technologies not seen in previous decades. These technologies have improved service and allowed customers to have greater insight into their energy usage. In the electric utility industry, two technology categories are in the forefront for modernization of the electric grid. Information Technology (IT) is the hardware and software that enables the development, maintenance, and use of computer systems, software, and networks for the processing and distribution of corporate data. Operation Technology (OT) is the hardware and software that detects or causes a change through direct monitoring and/or control of physical devices, processes, and events on the electric grid. These two categories appear to be nearing convergence and it is important for both IT and OT to work together to develop DME's overall system policies and cyber security compliance programs. However, each is sufficiently unique in its application and accountability that independent plans must be made to proceed down a path that supports its focus. TABLE 1 provides detail regarding the delineation of these technologies.
Information Technology (IT)
Operation Technology (OT)
Purpose
Transaction systems, business systems, information systems, IT security standards
Control systems, data sys...
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