SFPUC Upcoming Contracting Opportunity: Design/Build the Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk

The SFPUC is a Department of the City and County of San Francisco ("City") that supplies drinking water to 2.7 million customers in the four Bay Area counties of Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Francisco, and upcountry near Groveland in Tuolumne County, and provides sewer services to San Francisco residents, hydroelectric power to San Francisco's municipal operations, and clean, renewable power to San Francisco customers. The SFPUC manages over 160 miles (320 circuit miles) of high voltage transmission lines. The SFPUC transmission lines begin at power generation facilities at the Early Intake Switchyard in Tuolumne County and end at Newark Substation in Alameda County. Due to the unique complexities of the design and construction required for this Project, the City has determined that the Project requires specialized expertise and skills, which should be procured using an alternate project delivery method in comparison to the traditional design-bid-build. The City has selected a progressive design-build project delivery method in accordance with San Francisco Administrative Code section 6.61, subdivision (c). The Design-Builder will be obligated to collaborate with the SFPUC on defining and procuring multiple trade subcontracts for efficient and timely project delivery. Project Objectives The objective of the project is to perform clearance mitigations to spans of existing SFPUC owned and operated 115kV and 230kV overhead power transmission lines. SFPUC has identified a possible one-hundred and fifteen (115) moderate and low risk clearance detections and three (3) additional risk clearance sites. The existing subject circuits have been identified by the SFPUC as being non compliant with California General Order 95 (GO 95) and the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC). The Design-Builder will be required to perform mitigation measures for these identified spans to bring them into compliance with NESC and G095 standards and design criteria. Work may include site grading, increased conductor tensions, installation of floating dead-end suspension assemblies, tower structure raises, tower replacement, intermediate mid-span tower structures, or one or more combinations of the methods, or implementation of other solutions.