Northwest Public-Works Bid Digest: Week of July 16, 2026

This is our weekly roundup of open public-works bid opportunities across the Northwest that matter to electrical and utility contractors — substation and transmission work, distribution, plant electrical, and the equipment packages that go with them. We update it every Monday. Every listing below was pulled from the owner's own solicitation page, links to that page, and had a bid due date in the future when we published. If we can only verify a handful in a given week, we publish the handful — no expired listings, no padding.

This week we verified seven active solicitations across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

This Week at a Glance

Project	Agency	Location	Bid Due
Sunset to Dallas Transmission Line Construction	Benton PUD	Kennewick, WA	Aug 11, 2026, 3:00 PM PT
Padmount Switchgear PME-11 & 12	Benton PUD	Kennewick, WA	Aug 5, 2026, 3:00 PM PT
Ranney Well Electrical Replacement & Inspection	City of Marysville	Marysville, WA	Jul 22, 2026, 2:00 PM PT
Solar Installation at Public Safety Complex	Nisqually Indian Tribe	Nisqually / Olympia, WA	Jul 17, 2026, 3:00 PM PT
Day Ln Overhead-to-Underground Conversion (ITB 8-26)	Emerald PUD	Lane County, OR	Jul 28, 2026, 12:00 PM PT
Two Substation Transformers (IFP 26-22)	Idaho Falls Power	Idaho Falls, ID	Aug 4, 2026, 1:00 PM MT
72.5kV SF6 Circuit Breakers (IFP 26-24)	Idaho Falls Power	Idaho Falls, ID	Aug 5, 2026, 1:00 PM MT

Sunset to Dallas Transmission Line Construction — Benton PUD

Benton PUD in Kennewick is taking sealed bids on construction of the Sunset to Dallas transmission line. This is line-construction work — the biggest package on this week's list for anyone doing overhead transmission.

• Due: Tuesday, August 11, 2026, 3:00 PM PT, sealed bid to the Procurement Department, 1500 S. Ely, Kennewick.
• Source: bentonpud.org/procurement

Worth checking: The solicitation calls for a 5% bid bond or certified check with the bid, and a 100% performance bond from the winner. Confirm whether structures, conductor, and hardware are owner-furnished or contractor-furnished before you price — on PUD transmission jobs the split varies a lot and it swings the number. Pull the outage/energization constraints too; working near an energized system changes your crew plan.

Padmount Switchgear PME-11 & 12 — Benton PUD

A materials-supply solicitation from the same PUD, running a week ahead of the transmission job.

• Due: Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 3:00 PM PT.
• Source: bentonpud.org/procurement

Worth checking: This is a furnish-only equipment buy, not installation, so read the spec for the exact ratings, bushing configuration, and any Buy America / domestic-content language. Lead times on padmount gear are still long — check the required delivery date against manufacturer quotes before you commit.

Ranney Well Electrical Replacement & Inspection — City of Marysville

Marysville is soliciting quotes through its Small Works Roster (SWR 2026-005) to replace electrical at a Ranney collector well and perform inspection. This is industrial electrical inside an operating water facility.

• Due: Tuesday, July 22, 2026, 2:00 PM PT, to the Civic Center front counter, 501 Delta Ave.
• Source: Marysville SWR 2026-005 (PDF)

Worth checking: The city wants demonstrated experience with large-motor cable installation and VFD work — make sure your quals letter speaks to that. Quotes stay open 90 days. Because it's a small-works job at a live well, plan around shutdown windows and confirm prevailing wage rates apply (they do on Washington public works).

Solar Installation at Public Safety Complex — Nisqually Indian Tribe

The Nisqually Building Department is taking proposals for a solar install at the tribal Public Safety Complex. Note the tight window — this one closes tomorrow.

• Due: Friday, July 17, 2026, 3:00 PM PT.
• Source: nisqually-nsn.gov/bid-opportunities

Worth checking: Two addenda are already posted along with a roof framing plan and walkthrough specs — read the addenda first, they usually move the target. The tribe encourages minority and disadvantaged firms to submit. If you're not already holding the walkthrough documentation, you're behind on this one; it's here mainly as a lead for similar tribal solar packages coming behind it.

Day Ln Overhead-to-Underground Conversion (ITB 8-26) — Emerald PUD

Emerald People's Utility District, out of the Eugene area, is bidding an overhead-to-underground distribution conversion on Day Lane. Straight-ahead line work for a Lane County crew.

• Due: Tuesday, July 28, 2026, 12:00 PM PT.
• Source: epud.org/about-us/bids-contracts-proposals

Worth checking: The package includes a Statement of Work (Exhibit A1), maps (A2), and specs (A3) — the maps tell you the trenching footage and restoration scope, which is where these jobs win or lose money. Confirm who owns the conduit, vaults, and transformers versus what you furnish, and check for any joint-trench coordination with communications. Oregon BOLI prevailing wage applies.

Two Substation Transformers (IFP 26-22) — Idaho Falls Power

Idaho Falls Power is buying two new electric substation transformers. Furnish-only, but relevant if you supply or partner on utility gear.

• Due: Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 1:00 PM MT.
• Source: City of Idaho Falls open bids

Worth checking: Match the nameplate ratings, impedance, and tap requirements in the spec exactly — substitutions get rejected. Confirm the delivery deadline and any testing/witness requirements; transformer lead times are the whole ballgame here.

72.5kV SF6 Circuit Breakers (IFP 26-24) — Idaho Falls Power

A companion equipment buy from Idaho Falls Power for 72.5kV SF6 breakers.

• Due: Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 1:00 PM MT.
• Source: City of Idaho Falls open bids

Worth checking: Read the spec for interrupting rating, operating mechanism, and control-scheme compatibility with existing IF Power standards. As with the transformers, this is a supply bid — confirm the required delivery window against your manufacturer's quoted lead time before you sign.

A Note on This Week's List

Four Washington items, one Oregon, two Idaho. We didn't find a Montana solicitation we could verify on an owner's page with a live due date this week — eMACS and the state's public bid site were the places we looked. When one surfaces, it'll be in next week's digest. The Nisqually solar bid is included because it was still open at publish time, but with a same-week deadline it's realistically a lead for the next tribal package rather than something to mobilize on now.

Want this in your inbox every Monday? Subscribe below.

If you're chasing any of these bid sets, you can drop the full solicitation into DeadFront.AI and get an AI bid brief back — bond percentages, prevailing wage, owner-furnished versus contractor-furnished equipment, submittal windows, and mandatory pre-bid dates pulled out of the documents so you're not hunting through Division 00 to find them.