Northwest Public-Works Bid Digest: Week of August 3, 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 is a quieter, equipment-heavy week: five verified solicitations, all in Idaho and Washington, and four of the five are furnish-only material buys. The bigger news is the clock. Three of these close within the next 48 hours, so if you're going to move on the Idaho Falls transformers or Benton's switchgear, read those sections first and confirm the submission details today.

This Week at a Glance

Project	Agency	Location	Bid Due
Substation Transformers — Two (2) (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

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

Idaho Falls Power is taking sealed proposals to furnish two (2) new electric substation transformers. It's the first of three equipment packages the municipal utility has open right now, and it closes first.

• 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 with roughly a day left, verify the exact submission location and cutoff so a competitive number doesn't die on a late delivery of the bid itself.

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

The same utility has a separate furnish bid for a bulb turbine transformer, tied to Idaho Falls Power's hydro generation. It closes a half hour after the substation transformers, 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 or substation unit — connection, cooling, and protection details are specific to the plant it serves, so don't reuse a substation quote. Confirm the exact kVA, voltage class, and any interface requirements against the machine, 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. Benton's instructions call for a bid bond equal to 5% of the bid with the bid — confirm that applies here and have it ready. Lead times on padmount gear are still long; check the required delivery date against your manufacturer quotes before you commit, and route questions to the Procurement Department 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 only fieldwork package on this week's list, and the biggest job for anyone doing overhead transmission.

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

Worth checking: Benton's solicitation calls for a bid bond equal to 5% of the bid amount, and the successful bidder will carry a 100% performance bond — build both into your number and your bonding capacity check now. 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. Washington prevailing wage applies to the fieldwork.

A Few Notes Before You Chase These

Four of the five are furnish-only equipment buys — the two substation transformers, the bulb turbine transformer, the SF6 breakers, 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. Benton's Sunset to Dallas transmission line is the one that carries the bonding, prevailing-wage, and owner-furnished-material questions, so give it the most bid-management attention.

One more worth knowing about, as a lesson in moving early: Cowlitz PUD has an open solicitation for South Kelso Substation Fence Hardening (Contract UC1852) in Kelso, WA, with sealed bids due August 12, 2026. We're not listing it as a live opportunity because its pre-bid meeting on July 30 was mandatory — "Bids will not be accepted from Contractors who do not attend" — and that date has passed, so it's effectively closed to anyone who wasn't in the room. It's a clean example of why a mandatory pre-bid buried in the instructions can take you out of a job before you've priced a thing.

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.