Northwest Public-Works Bid Digest: Week of July 27, 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 Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. One closes tomorrow, and one carries a mandatory pre-bid meeting this Thursday — read those two first.

This Week at a Glance

Project	Agency	Location	Bid Due
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
Bulb Turbine Transformer (IFP 26-23)	Idaho Falls Power	Idaho Falls, ID	Aug 4, 2026, 1:30 PM MT
72.5kV SF6 Circuit Breakers (IFP 26-24)	Idaho Falls Power	Idaho Falls, ID	Aug 5, 2026, 1:00 PM MT
Padmount Switchgear PME-11 & 12 (26-21-15)	Benton PUD	Kennewick, WA	Aug 5, 2026, 3:00 PM PT
Sunset to Dallas Transmission Line Construction (26-21-06)	Benton PUD	Kennewick, WA	Aug 11, 2026, 3:00 PM PT
South Kelso Substation Fence Hardening (UC1852)	Cowlitz PUD	Kelso, WA	Aug 12, 2026, 2:00 PM PT

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 — and it closes first on this week's list.

• 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: This one is down to the wire — confirm the exact submission email and cutoff before you do anything else. 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. Check who owns the conduit, vaults, and transformers versus what you furnish, and note that Addendum 1 has already been issued — make sure your number reflects it. Oregon BOLI prevailing wage applies.

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

Idaho Falls Power is taking sealed proposals to furnish two (2) new electric substation transformers. Worth flagging: the current posting is a two-unit buy — if you priced this off an earlier single-unit read, re-check the quantity. 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.
• Source: idahofallsidaho.gov open bids

Worth checking: This is a furnish-only buy, so the whole bid lives in the ratings, impedance, and accessory spec — read it line by line and confirm your quote matches on both units, 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, and confirm whether the two units share one delivery window or ship separately.

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

The second Idaho Falls Power package: a furnish bid for a bulb turbine transformer, tied to the utility's hydro generation. It closes a half hour after the substation transformer buy, 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 close times on the same afternoon.

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.

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, sealed bid to the Procurement Department.
• 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.

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 the biggest fieldwork 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 District's procurement notes call for a bid bond equal to 5% of the bid with the bid and a 100% performance bond on award — confirm the exact language 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.

South Kelso Substation Fence Hardening (UC1852) — Cowlitz PUD

New this week: Cowlitz PUD is bidding a security-fence hardening job at its South Kelso Substation — expanded metal mesh fabric, razor wire, and the grounding and bonding that ties the new fence back to the station ground grid. It's small-footprint field work, but it's inside an energized substation and it comes with a hard gate on who can bid.

• Due: Wednesday, August 12, 2026, 2:00 PM PT, sealed bid to Cowlitz PUD, Longview, WA.
• Mandatory pre-bid: Thursday, July 30, 2026, 2:00 PM at the District's Main office, followed by an optional site visit. Bids will not be accepted from contractors who don't attend.
• Source: cowlitzpud.org/about/bid-documents

Worth checking: The mandatory pre-bid is the whole ballgame here — miss the July 30 meeting and you're out, no exceptions, so get someone there. Bid security is 5% of the total and a performance bond is required on award. This is prevailing-wage work on Cowlitz County rates, with the project anticipated to run from mid-September to a December 17, 2026 completion — check the schedule against your other fall work. And read the grounding-and-bonding detail closely: the spec calls out specific clamp and mesh products and requires bonding the fabric and razor wire back to the ground grid, so this prices more like electrical work than a straight fence job.

A Few Notes Before You Chase These

Five of the seven are furnish-only equipment buys — the Idaho Falls transformer and breaker packages and Benton's 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 three with fieldwork — Emerald's Day Lane conversion, Benton's transmission line, and Cowlitz's substation fence — are where prevailing wage, bonding, and pre-bid attendance carry the most weight. The Cowlitz job's mandatory July 30 meeting and Emerald's Tuesday-noon close are the two hard deadlines this week; the rest run into the first two weeks of August.

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, mandatory pre-bids, and the rest — at deadfront.ai; see a real example brief for how it reads.