Summary#
Montréal city council unanimously approved a 36-month framework agreement with Infrastructel inc. to provide, on request, professional supervision of work modifying the underground network of the Commission des services électriques de Montréal (CSEM). The agreement has a maximum value of $849,808.97, taxes included, and ends sooner if that amount is used up. City staff say it is meant to help the CSEM supervise its construction sites.
- The city selected Infrastructel through public call for tenders S-2346. Five firms submitted bids, and all five were deemed acceptable; Infrastructel received the highest final score.
- Council approved the service agreement and required an evaluation of Infrastructel’s performance.
- The CSEM’s president is authorized to sign the agreement for the city.
What it means for you#
- CSEM and city operations: Infrastructel must provide supervision services when the CSEM requests them, within the contract’s term and maximum amount. City staff expected services to begin in March 2026.
- CSEM service users: City staff say the expense will be funded through the city’s 10-year capital program and reimbursed through CSEM user levies. The decision does not state how much any user will pay.
- Residents and businesses: The decision does not directly change your rights, services, taxes, or fees.
Money#
The approved maximum contract amount is $849,808.97, taxes included; no estimate of actual spending is provided.
- City staff say costs will be charged to individual CSEM work requests and funded through its capital program, with reimbursement through user levies.
- The submitted hourly rate for supervisors was $64.72. The agreement runs for 36 months from the award notice, or until the maximum amount is used up, whichever comes first. No renewal option is stated.
What is unclear#
- How many work assignments or supervision hours the CSEM expects to order, and how much of the maximum it will actually spend.
- What the performance evaluation will involve, or what happens if performance is unsatisfactory.
- How the user levies that reimburse the expense are set or distributed.
Case for#
- City staff say the CSEM oversees about 90 construction sites a year, and its 19 technical agents cannot handle all site supervision, especially in summer. Contracting for added support addresses that stated capacity gap.
- Infrastructel received the highest final score among five acceptable bids, and its amount was $105,523.80 below the CSEM’s estimate.
Case against#
- Another bidder’s listed price was $843,286.67, which is $6,522.30 lower than Infrastructel’s. The selection therefore was not based on lowest price alone; the decision relies on the highest final score, but does not explain the scoring criteria in detail.
- The contract maximum is not the same as a forecast of actual spending, and the decision does not say how much the CSEM’s user levies will need to cover.