Naperville combined three related modernization needs in a 2025 procurement: upgrading its SCADA platform, replacing an OMS that would be affected by planned GIS changes, and adding DERMS capability as distributed energy resources increased on the municipal system. After written proposal scoring, the two leading vendors completed interviews and demonstrations and were rescored before Survalent was recommended for award.
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Utility: Naperville
Utility type: Municipal utility
Technology / purchase: New SCADA, DERMS, and OMS platform purchase, deployment, and integration
Buying archetype: Planned modernization / system replacement
Stages visible in the record: Problem Definition → Vendor Evaluation → Purchase Decision
Stakeholders explicitly visible: Electric Utility; Information Technology Department; selection team / committee; City Council
Evidence / information explicitly mentioned: RFP 25-068 and scored vendor responses; evaluation criteria; finalist interviews and demonstrations; rescoring and final qualification scores; planned phased deployment and employee training
Outcome: City Council approved a six-year award to Survalent for an amount not to exceed $2,250,021, plus a 3% contingency on implementation costs
Source basis: Primary City of Naperville public procurement / award record
What triggered the purchase
Naperville's record describes several connected modernization needs. Its SCADA system dated to the early 1990s and had undergone periodic hardware and software refreshes. At the time of the procurement, the utility was also upgrading SCADA communications so field hardware and control-room software could use industry-standard protocols and be upgraded independently.
The utility had procured its existing GIS-centric OMS in 2021, but later learned that planned changes to the GIS foundation would render that OMS inoperable. At the same time, Naperville reported substantial growth in electric vehicles, solar and battery installations and identified a need for greater real-time visibility and capability to manage distributed generation, storage and load. The utility therefore sought to upgrade SCADA, replace the OMS and deploy DERMS as part of the same procurement.
How the utility defined what it needed
The public award record identifies the operating and technology needs carried into the procurement. The new OMS needed to accommodate required GIS data-model changes. The SCADA modernization was intended to build on the communications upgrade and take advantage of newer technologies, while DERMS would add capability for managing a grid with increasing distributed generation and storage.
In April 2025, the Electric Utility issued RFP 25-068, New SCADA, DERMS, and OMS Platform Purchase, Deployment, and Integration, seeking a software solution covering those needs. The available record does not establish a specific pre-RFP technology-research or vendor-demonstration process, so the earlier development of the requirements cannot be reconstructed from S002.
How vendors or options were evaluated
Naperville received three proposals, from Larsen & Toubro Limited, Open Systems International, Inc. and Survalent. A selection team made up of staff from the Electric Utility and Information Technology Department evaluated the responses.
The proposals were scored using four RFP criteria:
Capability, Capacity and Qualifications of the Offeror — 30%
Suitability and Quality of the Software — 30%
Milestones and Deliverables — 30%
Outcomes to be Achieved — 10%
After the initial proposal scoring, the committee invited the two leading vendors, Open Systems International and Survalent, to interviews and demonstrations. The committee then rescored the vendors. The final qualification scores were 80.4 for Survalent and 79.2 for Open Systems International, and staff recommended Survalent as the highest-scoring vendor. The record establishes the sequence from demonstrations to rescoring; it does not state that the demonstrations changed the ranking or independently determined the selection.
City Council subsequently approved the award. Council authorization was therefore separate from the proposal evaluation and rescoring conducted by the Electric Utility / Information Technology selection team.
Evidence and information explicitly mentioned
RFP 25-068 and scored vendor responses
The Electric Utility issued RFP 25-068 in April 2025 and received three proposals. Electric Utility and Information Technology staff scored the responses using the criteria established in the RFP, creating the initial comparative evaluation from which the two finalists emerged.
Finalist interviews and demonstrations
Open Systems International and Survalent attended interviews and conducted demonstrations after the initial proposal scoring. The selection committee rescored the two vendors after those sessions and reported final qualification scores of 79.2 and 80.4, respectively. The source documents that the live evaluation preceded rescoring but does not establish that it alone caused the final result.
Planned phased deployment and employee training
The awarded scope contemplated a multi-phase implementation. Phase 1A covered initial design and deployment of the base SCADA system and employee training; Phase 1B covered integration of the updated electric GIS model; Phase 2 covered standing up the OMS platform; and Phase 3 covered standing up DERMS. The procurement also included five years of ongoing support and maintenance. These are planned elements of the awarded scope, not evidence in S002 that implementation had already been completed.
Outcome
On December 2, 2025, the Naperville City Council approved the award of RFP 25-068 to Survalent for an amount not to exceed $2,250,021, plus a 3% contingency on implementation costs, for a six-year term.
The record anticipates project work between 2026 and 2031, with completion expected by December 31, 2031. Hardware and hardware installation were not included in this contract and were to be purchased separately. S002 therefore documents a completed procurement award and planned implementation scope, not completed system deployment.
Why this case matters for vendors
Written scoring and live finalist evaluation were separate steps
Naperville first scored the three written proposals, then brought the top two vendors into interviews and demonstrations, and then rescored those finalists. The case documents live vendor interaction as a distinct part of finalist evaluation rather than treating the written proposal as the complete comparison. It does not establish that the demonstrations changed the ranking or were decisive.
Technical evaluation and purchase authorization involved different roles
Electric Utility and Information Technology staff conducted the proposal evaluation, finalist interactions and rescoring. City Council subsequently authorized the award. The case therefore documents a distinction between the cross-functional team evaluating the solutions and the governing body approving the purchase.
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City of Naperville, File 25-1305: Award of RFP 25-068, New SCADA, DERMS, and OMS Platform Purchase, Deployment, and Integration
Host: City of Naperville
Public link: https://naperville.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?FullText=1&GUID=F6F3DFA8-A171-4AC9-AFA5-9953E728F427&ID=7766099&Options=&Search=Source provenance: Primary City of Naperville public procurement and award record. It documents the modernization context, RFP issuance, proposal scoring criteria, participating vendors, finalist interviews and demonstrations, rescoring, staff recommendation, City Council approval and planned implementation scope.
Evidence limitations: The record does not establish a specific pre-RFP vendor-demonstration or technology-research process. It documents that interviews and demonstrations were followed by rescoring but does not establish that those sessions changed the ranking, caused Survalent's selection or were independently decisive. The implementation phases, employee training, support and maintenance are awarded future scope; S002 does not document completed implementation, expansion or advocacy.
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