The City of Seattle expects to learn about types of utility customer service products, range of services and capabilities offered by Vendors to inform a potential Utilities Customer Service Portal competitive solicitation. Seattle City Light (SCL) and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) aim to evaluate industry solutions that can:Improve customer experience with digital self-service holistic account managementEnable enrollment in utility programs such as discounted or alternative rates, emergency relief, or conservation programsIntegrate with existing SCL and SPU systems including but not limited to the Oracle Utilities solution stackSupport real-time and batch data exchangesSupport mobile first access and remain compliant to all evolving ADA regulationsEnhance case management for customer service representatives across UtilitiesProvide analytics for customer engagement and program participationMeet the City’s security and privacy controls.

This Request for Information (RFI) is for informational purposes only and no contract will be awarded as a result. A vendor's response to the RFI, or lack thereof, will have no impact on the evaluation of responses to any subsequent Request for Proposals solicitation (RFP).

If you have not previously done so, register at: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/seattle, then subscribe to the City’s Procurement Portal. The Procurement Portal is used by City staff to identify companies for future solicitation lists and check certifications. Women- and minority-owned firms are asked to self-identify their business as such in OpenGov. Registration in the City's Procurement Portal is required to submit a response to this solicitation.

The City of Seattle Information Technology Department (ITD) in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and Seattle City Light (SCL) are issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to obtain information from Software Vendors. The information gathered through this RFI may be used to refine requirements for a potential future Request for Proposal covering Utility customer portal needs. This Request for Information (RFI) leverages a user story framework to encourage respondents to describe how their solution supports business objectives, user needs and operational processes rather than prescriptive technical solutions. Please respond in Section 5: Vendor Response Questions: 2 and 3 to these corresponding user story Sections: 3.2 Customer Experience, and3.3 Technical Standards. Explain how your solution meets intent and outcomes described in each user story and include how your system supports the stated business capabilities and alignments including any standard functionality, configuration options, custom development or alternative approaches. The user stories outline Seattle Utilities’ initial vision for future customer portal capabilities. They are provided as context for vendor responses and are not meant to be exhaustive or prescriptive. Vendors should reference these user stories where relevant but are also encouraged to propose additional ideas, innovations, and capabilities that go beyond what is listed.

3.2.1 As a Residential Utility Customer, I want a secure and easy to use online account profile so that I can manage my utility services including account details, history, payments and changes so I can have one place to interact with and learn about my utility providers.Customer Account Management Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:Secure customer login with industry standard authentication Ability to view current and past bills, usage history, and payment history for all utility services Chat bot available to obtain answers to common questions without needing to make a call to customer serviceMultilingual translation of screens, dropdowns, and tool tips on both desktop and mobile versions (Required City of Seattle languages: English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Somali, Filipino (Tagalog) and Korean)Ability to initiate start or stop of utility service, with real-time system response on completion of transaction Manage payment methods in a secure on-line wallet with modern payment options and ability to set recurring automatic payments Submit and track applications for utility programs such as financial assistance or rebatesSecurely upload, maintain and view documents to share with Utility representatives that are assisting me with program applications or billing inquiriesSubmit requests to add or change solid waste services such as replacing a missing or damaged container, reporting a missed collection, requesting a special item pick up and viewing and printing collection calendarSet notification options with user-configured parameters such as usage alerts, payment confirmations and other selected notificationsView usage trends including monitoring high usage anomalies with user-defined thresholds. 3.2.2 As a Commercial Customer, I want to manage multiple services locations from a single login, so that I can efficiently monitor utility usage and operations across my organization.Commercial Account Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:View all selected accounts on one loginAbility to search and filter by multiple criteria such as account number, address, or nameAbility to provide different levels of access to approved proxy usersAbility to select multiple accounts and export them in various file formatsView and track requests, outages and planned maintenanceCompare multiple services and meters across different locationsProvide usage trends, seasonal demand peaks and benchmarks. 3.2.3 As an Escrow Agent, I want to request an estimate and final bill so that utility services continue without interruption after the completion of the property sale.Escrow Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:Identify property using account number, address or parcel numberRequest an estimate bill before closing and final closing bill Ability to manage agency agents. 3.2.4 As a Utilities Customer Service Representative, I want visibility into all customer transactions so that I can quickly and accurately assist utility customers.Internal Customer Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:Enable authorized staff to log in as a user to review their customer profile, ensuring all confidential data remains hiddenAbility to initiate a co-browse session with a customer to resolve issues in real-timeVisibility to customer accounts while fielding calls to resolve customer issues or questions in real-timeAbility to initiate a secure password reset for a customer upon request using industry standard compliant processesAccess to update customer contact information upon request of a customerRetain records of customer requests and interaction historyReview bills and account history, and correct billing errors if necessaryReview customers’ balance, payment history and payment agreements. 3.2.5 As a Utility Executive or Management Leader, I want visibility into customer performance, engagement and operational metrics, so that I can evaluate the effectiveness of the portal, identify areas of opportunity and make informed business decisions.Internal Operational Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:Provide operational metrics such as portal enrollments, electronic billing status, failed logins and other quantifiable data pointsExamine customer analytics and monitor customer satisfactionProvide adoption and usage metrics such as program enrollment, tracking customer messages and action rates. 3.2.6 As a Communications or Content team member, we want the ability to create, manage, publish and analyze customer-facing content within the portal, so that we can provide timely, accurate and relevant information that improves customer awareness, engagement and self-service adoption.Internal Communications Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:Ability to create and publish customer news, campaigns, offers, and communicationsAbility for targeted marketing content of customer account segments or service areasThe system can provide tracked metrics engagement rates, customer interactions and others.

The City strongly prefers that all vendor communications concerning this acquisition be submitted through the Procurement Portal. If necessary, you may also direct your communications to the contact below. The RFI Coordinator is:Laura Park(206) 733-9595laura.park@seattle.govUnless authorized by the RFI Coordinator, no other City official or City employee is empowered to speak for the City regarding this acquisition. Any Responder seeking to obtain information, clarification, or interpretations from any other City official or City employee (other than the RFI Coordinator) is advised that such material is used at the Responder’s own risk. The City will not be bound by any such information, clarification, or interpretation.

The City does not plan to hold a pre-proposal conference for this RFI; all information will be provided through the Procurement Portal and official communications channels

3.3.1 As a City of Seattle Information Technical support team, the system needs to meet or exceed all City standards, so we maintain confidence/trust with our users and their data.Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:The vendors system will protect city data throughout the product lifecycleThe system supports City records, retention schedules and legal-hold requirementsThe system provides security and cybersecurity monitoring and updates the Utilities as neededThe solution maintains compliance with applicable Payment Card Industry (PCI) and provides current SOC 1 and 2 reports or equivalent third-party attestations for compliance The system complies with the city standard for identity management. At the time of this RFI is Oracle’s Identity Cloud Service (IDCS)The system meets or exceeds ADA accessibility requirements, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG level 2.1) and applicable accessibility standardsThe system supports single sign-on (SSO) industry-standard authentication protocolsThe system complies with Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requirements for customer communications and consent managementMeet City standards for integration. 3.3.2 As a Utility Technical Support team, we want the ability to independently manage routine portal configurations, content updates, business rules, and customer communications, so that we can quickly respond to operational and regulatory requirements without relying on vendor development resources.Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:The system allows the City to update wording, labels, color scheme, banners, footers, links and possibly advanced HTML possibilities without coding or vendor interventionSystem Administrators can configure and develop notifications, and customer messagingSystem Administrators can create and maintain business rules through administrator tools rather than custom development. The system maintains version history, including who made the change, when it occurred and what was modifiedRole-based security controls for administrative access to configuration and administration functions Content changes can be previewed and approved before publication. 3.3.3 As a Utility Technical Support team, we want comprehensive monitoring, diagnostics, and administrative troubleshooting capabilities, so that we can independently support, maintain, and resolve issues within the customer service portal and its integrations.Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:The ability to view the status and processing of customer transactions, activities and error detailsThe system provides diagnostic tools to support root cause analysis and identification of issues to assist identifying where issues originate in the portal, integration, or external service providersThe system notifies any failed integrations, transactions or batch processes The vendor provides documentation available to support routine administration, troubleshooting and issue resolution. 3.3.4 As the Utility IT Operations team, we want all application updates, patches, configuration changes, and releases to align with our deployment and change control processes, so that resources can be properly coordinated, governance requirements are met, and production changes are introduced in a secure and predictable manner.Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:Vendor and Utility teams can coordinate deployment schedules, release activities resource assignments and implementation timelinesPlanned releases can be aligned with the Utility’s release calendar, maintenance schedules and operational prioritiesDeployment plans, backout plans, and testing results are available prior to implementationChange records can be linked to release activities for audit and compliance purposes and follow established change management and approval workflowsEmergency changes can be implemented using approved expedited processes when necessary to address critical incidents, security vulnerabilities or service disruptions while maintaining appropriate documentation, testing, approvals and audit recordsHigh-risk changes can be assessed and mitigated before deployment. 3.3.5 As a Utility Technical Security and Administration team, we want the solution to support flexible role-based access control securities and multiple user groups, so that access can be governed and users receive appropriate permissions based on job responsibilities and business functions, while maintaining security and compliance requirements.Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:The solution supports configurable role-based access control that allows permissions to be assigned and managed by role rather than individual user and maintained by authorized Utility staffThe system can support users who belong to multiple groups with inherited permissionsAll role assignment changes are auditable and tracked with user, date, and time stamps. 3.3.6 As a Utility Data Governance and Analytics team, we want ownership of Utility data along with comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities, so that we can independently manage, access, analyze, and share information to support customer service, operational efficiency, compliance, and strategic decision-making.Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:Describe how the solution supports Utility ownership and access to data and configurations throughout the contract lifecycleData can be accessed or exported without requiring vendor intervention The solution does not create technical or contractual barriers that prevent the Utility from moving its data to another system or service provider. 3.3.7 As a Notification Service, I want to publish customer alerts through email and SMS channels, so that customers receive timely updates regarding bills, service requests and outages.Capabilities & Alignment Considerations:Failed deliveries are identified and logged according to Utility business rulesAuthorized Utility staff can independently configure notification templates, delivery settings, communication triggers and customer messaging. 3.3.8 As a Payment Gateway Integration Service, we want to securely process customer payments, so that customers can make online payments without exposing sensitive information.

The City will not be liable for any costs incurred by the Responder in the preparation and presentation of materials submitted in response to this RFI including, but not limited to, costs incurred in connection with the Responder’s participation in demonstrations and the pre-information conference.

Prior to the closing date and time established for this RFI, a Vendor may change or correct its submission by following the Instructions here: https://opengov.my.site.com/support/s/article/4f4218bf-7da6-4fc6-b0c3-7eade0776ebe. No change to response shall be made after the RFI closing date and time.

The State of Washington’s Public Records Act (Release/Disclosure of Public Records) Under Washington State Law (reference RCW Chapter 42.56, the Public Records Act) all materials received or created by the City of Seattle are considered public records. These records include but are not limited to bid or proposal submittals, agreement documents, contract work product, or other bid material.The State of Washington’s Public Records Act requires that public records must be promptly disclosed by the City upon request unless that RCW or another Washington State statute specifically exempts records from disclosure. Exemptions are narrow and explicit and are listed in Washington State Law (Reference RCW 42.56 and RCW 19.108).