Northwest Public-Works Bid Digest: Week of July 20, 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. Two of them close inside the next eight days, so read those first.

This Week at a Glance

Project	Agency	Location	Bid Due
250kVA Voltage Regulators (26WH0801)	Jefferson County PUD	Port Townsend, WA	Jul 22, 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
Substation Transformer (IFP 26-22)	Idaho Falls Power	Idaho Falls, ID	Aug 4, 2026, 1:00 PM MT
Bulb Turbine Transformer (IFP 26-23)	Idaho Falls Power	Idaho Falls, ID	Aug 4, 2026, 1:30 PM MT
Padmount Switchgear PME-11 & 12 (26-21-15)	Benton PUD	Kennewick, WA	Aug 5, 2026, 3:00 PM PT
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 (26-21-06)	Benton PUD	Kennewick, WA	Aug 11, 2026, 3:00 PM PT

250kVA Voltage Regulators (26WH0801) — Jefferson County PUD

Jefferson County PUD in Port Townsend is taking sealed bids on six (6) 250kVA single-phase voltage regulators, RUS approved. This is a furnish-only equipment buy, and it closes first on this week's list.

• Due: Wednesday, July 22, 2026, 3:00 PM PT, sealed bid delivered to the District.
• Source: jeffpud.org/open-rfps

Worth checking: "RUS approved" is doing real work in this spec — confirm your quoted units carry current RUS acceptance and match the required ratings and control package before you price. Delivery is on you, so build lead time and freight into the number, and read the bid form for how the District wants alternates (if any) handled. With only a couple of days left, verify the exact submission location and cutoff — a regulator bid is easy to win on price and lose on a late delivery of the bid itself.

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, emailed to the contracts specialist per the ITB.
• 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.

Substation Transformer (IFP 26-22) — Idaho Falls Power

Idaho Falls Power is taking sealed proposals to furnish a new electric substation transformer. It's the first of three equipment packages the municipal utility has open right now.

• Due: Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 1:00 PM MT, sealed proposal to Idaho Falls Power, 140 S. Capital Ave.
• Source: idahofallsidaho.gov open bids

Worth checking: This is a furnish-only power transformer, so the whole bid lives in the ratings, impedance, and accessory spec — read it line by line and confirm your quote matches, including bushing arrangement and any monitoring. Domestic-content and Buy America language shows up on federally supported utility buys; check whether it applies here. Transformer lead times remain the long pole — hold your manufacturer to the required delivery date in writing before you commit.

Bulb Turbine Transformer (IFP 26-23) — Idaho Falls Power

New this week from the same utility: a furnish bid for a bulb turbine transformer, tied to Idaho Falls Power's hydro generation. It closes a half hour after the substation transformer, so if you're bidding both, plan the paperwork.

• Due: Tuesday, August 4, 2026, 1:30 PM MT.
• Source: idahofallsidaho.gov open bids

Worth checking: A generator step-up / turbine transformer is a different animal from a distribution unit — connection, cooling, and protection details are specific to the plant, so don't reuse a substation quote. Confirm the exact kVA, voltage class, and any interface requirements against the plant it serves, and pin down the delivery window early given the two-plus close times on the same afternoon.

Padmount Switchgear PME-11 & 12 (26-21-15) — Benton PUD

Benton PUD in Kennewick has a materials-supply solicitation for padmount switchgear, running a week ahead of its transmission job below.

• 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. Questions route to the Procurement Department; get them in early enough to catch an addendum.

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

The third open Idaho Falls Power package: furnish of 72.5kV SF6 circuit breakers.

• Due: Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 1:00 PM MT.
• Source: idahofallsidaho.gov open bids

Worth checking: Match the interrupting rating, operating mechanism, and control voltage exactly — breaker specs are unforgiving, and a substitute mechanism can sink an otherwise-low bid. Watch for SF6 handling and any low-GWP / alternative-gas language, which some utilities are starting to fold into breaker specs. Confirm the delivery date and whether spare parts or first-fill gas are part of the furnish.

Sunset to Dallas Transmission Line Construction (26-21-06) — Benton PUD

Benton PUD 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: Expect a bid bond with the bid and a performance/payment bond from the winner — confirm the exact percentages in the instructions to bidders. 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 and energization constraints too — working near an energized system changes your crew plan and your schedule.

A Few Notes Before You Chase These

Six of the seven are furnish-only equipment buys — voltage regulators, three transformers/breaker packages, and padmount switchgear. On those, the whole bid is in matching the spec and holding a real delivery date; a low number with a soft lead time isn't a win. The two that involve fieldwork — Emerald's Day Lane conversion and Benton's transmission line — are where the prevailing-wage, bonding, and owner-furnished-material questions carry the most weight.

Dates and times above were verified against each owner's own solicitation page the day we published, but addenda move targets — always confirm the current due date, submission method, and any pre-bid requirement on the source page before you build your bid.

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If you're bidding one of these, we can turn the solicitation into a full AI bid brief — bonds, prevailing wage, owner-furnished equipment, submittal windows, and the rest — at deadfront.ai; see a real example brief for how it reads.