Dive Summary:

• Wallingford, Conn., utility the Electric Division has received a bid waiver from the town council granting approval for the purchase of $57,000 worth of new meters for its three substations.
• Electric Division's General Manager said the new meters are becoming common across the state and that it was necessary for the state to keep up with neighboring towns.
• Each of the nine meters costs more than $6,000, a price tag that certain local regulators are opposed to paying for.

From the article:

Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said the Electric Division’s request was based on standardization of equipment and working with a reliable manufacturer rather than finding the absolute lowest price.

“Our system has to fit in with others,” he said. “I’m not sure it would be appropriate on a subject like this for us to develop information about the pluses or minuses of other projects. The real issue is we need to standardize. Price is second.” ...