AGENDA ITEM
Public Utilities Commission
City and County of San Francisco
DEPARTMENT: Hetch Hetchy Water and
Power Division
AGENDA NUMBER: 6a
MEETING DATE July 14, 2026
Calendar: Consent Calendar
Project Manager: Edward Allen
Award Contract No. DB-139R, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk
Summary of Proposed
Commission Action:
Award Contract No. DB-139R, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk Project (Project), to Wilson Utility Construction Co., to design and construct clearance mitigations to span the existing San Francisco Public Utilities Commission owned and operated 115 kilovolt ( kV) and 230kV overhead power transmission lines, with an initial contract award for design and pre- construction services, in the not-to-exceed amount of $17,347,280, and with a total contract duration of 1,200 consecutive calendar days (approximately three years and four months).
The Planning Department has determined that the Project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and the Commission will rely on that determination to make its decision on this action. This action constitutes the Approval Action for the Project for the purposes of the CEQA pursuant to San Francisco Administrative Code Section 31.04(h).
Background: The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) owns and operates the Hetch Hetchy Power System composed of three hydroelectric powerhouses and power transmission facilities consisting of eleven overhead power transmission lines. The SFPUC power and transmission facilities are subject to Western Electricity Coordinating Council and North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) Reliability Standards. Following an outage to a bulk power system, caused by insufficient clearances and deviations from design and construction, NERC issued an alert in 2010 requiring that all utilities assess and address transmission line clearance deficiencies. In 2012, the
SFPUC Hetch Hetchy
Water and Power (HHWP) Division assessed its transmission lines and reported identified clearance issues to NERC.
To address these clearance issues, the SFPUC developed and implemented the Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation program, which to date has rectified clearance issues of some high- risk locations. Contract No. DB-139R will address the remaining deficiencies to maintain electrical clearances required by NERC, Agenda Title: DB-139R, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk Commission Meeting Date: July 14, 2026
Western Electricity Coordinating Council, National Electrical Safety Code, and the California Public Utilities Commission.
If awarded, and subject to further approvals, the Design-Builder will perform design and engineering services to develop the
construction documents including plans and technical
specifications, prepare trade bid packages, procure subcontractors, and construct mitigation measures for these identified spans to bring them into compliance with NESC and GO 95 standards and design criteria. The work may include site grading, increased conductor tensions, installation of floating dead- end suspension assemblies, to wer structure raises, tower replacement, intermediate mid- span tower structures, or one or more combinations of the methods, or implementation of other solutions.
The initial contract award is for the Design Builder to proceed with design, preconstruction services, and to prepare the Target Value Design Cost Model and Trade Package Plan (as defined in the contract), to allow the design to be progressively developed into individual work trade packages and allow for pre- construction services to commence such as underground utility verification, geotechnical investigations, and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) surveys to optimize the cost, schedule, and quality of the Project while reducing the risk of cost and schedule changes during construction.
Only after the Project’s design has progressed, and the Project’s Target Value Design Cost Model and Trade Package Plan is completed will the Commission determine whether to proceed with construction of the Project.
If the Commission approves the Project upon completion of the Target Value Design Cost Model and Trade Package Plan, and authorizes the Project to proceed, the Design-Builder will proceed with construction services.
Scope of Contract: The contract work locations are up -country commencing at the HHWP Early Intake Switchyard in Tuolumne County, traversing through Stanislaus County, San Joaquin County, Alameda County, and ending at the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) Electric Substation in Newark.
The objective of Contract No. DB-139R, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk Project (Project), is to perform clearance mitigations to spans of existing SFPUC -owned and operated 115kV and 230kV overhead power transmission lines.
The SFPUC has identified a possible 115 moderate - and low-risk Agenda Title: DB-139R, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk Commission Meeting Date: July 14, 2026
clearance detections and three 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).
Funding and Costs: Funding Source: Hetch Hetchy Capital Improvement Program Project No. 10014089, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk
Engineer’s Estimate: $ 62,500,000, with an estimated d irect cost of construction of $45,000,000
Total Not-To-Exceed Initial Contract Award Amount:
$17,347,280
Anticipated Total Design-Build Budget: $62,347,280
Schedule: Advertised: February 2, 2026
Estimated Pre-Construction Notice-to-Proceed Date:
September 2026
Estimated Construction Notice-to-Proceed Date if
Commission Approves Project: April 2027
Estimated End Date: December 30, 2029
Total Not-To-Exceed Contract Duration: 1,200 consecutive calendar days
Evaluation and
Selection Criteria:
Advertised: April 24, 2025
Proposals Received: On June 17, 2025, the SFPUC received two proposals. On September 23, 2025, upon further evaluation, SFPUC determined that it was in the best interest of the City to reject the proposals and to re-advertise the project.
Re-Advertisement Date: February 2, 2026
Proposals Received: On April 2, 2026, the SFPUC received three sealed proposals from Wilson Utility Construction Co., Sierra Mountain Construction, Inc., and Henkels & McCoy West, LLC.
The SFPUC reviewed the Minimum Qualification Applications submitted by each p roposer to determine whether they met the SFPUC’s minimum qualifications for the project. After the review was completed, the SFPUC determined that two proposers did not meet the minimum requirements and were therefore deemed non‑responsible.
Agenda Title: DB-139R, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk Commission Meeting Date: July 14, 2026
The SFPUC sent a Preliminary Notice of Proposal Rejection for non-responsibility to Sierra Mountain Construction, Inc., on April 24, 2026, and to Henkels & McCoy, West LLC on May 5, 2026,
including notification of hearing opportunity.
Henkels & McCoy, West LLC did not contest the Proposal Rejection for non-responsibility.
On May 1, 2026, the SFPUC received a request for hearing from Sierra Mountain Construction, Inc. In response, the SFPUC sent a Hearing Providing Opportunity to Contest Determination of Non- Responsibility to Sierra Mountain Construction, Inc. On May 20, 2026, the SFPUC received a written response from Sierra Mountain Construction, Inc., for the hearing. On June 5, 2026, after reviewing the Request for Qualifications and Proposal documents, proposals, hearing paperwork, and relevant information, the Hearing Officer determined that Sierra Mountain Construction, Inc., did not meet the minimum qualifications and was determined not responsible to execute this scope of work.
The SFPUC concluded that it is in the best interest of the City to award the contract to the sole responsible proposer that submitted a responsive proposal
, Wilson Utility Construction Co. In making
this determination, the SFPUC found that the sole responsible proposer’s price proposal did not exceed the engineer’s estimate and met or exceeded all contract requirements.
Environmental
Review:
On January 6, 2026, the Planning Department determined the Project to be exempt from environmental review under the CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) (Case No. 2024-002876ENV). View the
exemption determination.
This action constitutes the Approval Action for the Project for the purposes of the CEQA pursuant to San Francisco Administrative Code Section 31.04(h).
Local Business
Enterprise Utilization
and Non-
Discrimination in
Contracting:
The Contract Monitoring Division established a 10.00% Local Business Enterprise (LBE) subcontracting requirement for the Design Phase and a 10.00% LBE subcontracting requirement for the Construction Phase of the contract. The contractor committed to a 11.09% LBE subcontractor participation for the Design Phase with its proposal and submitted a Certificate of Commitment to a 10% LBE subcontractor participation for the Construction Phase.
Attachment(s): Contract Monitoring Division Memorandum
Agenda Title: DB-139R, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk Commission Meeting Date: July 14, 2026
Location Maps
The following two maps illustrate the area where the work will be performed: 1) boundary map of the state of California, highlighting the counties of Sierra Nevada region, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, Central Valley, and Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is identified by a black arrow and a red rectangular box; 2) map illustrating the high voltage transmission lines spanning Tuolumne County to Alameda County, and is identified by labeled sites.
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
City and County of San Francisco
RESOLUTION NO.
WHEREAS, The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) owns and operates the Hetch Hetchy Power System composed of three hydroelectric powerhouses and power transmission facilities consisting of eleven overhead power transmission lines; and
WHEREAS, Clearance mitigation measures to spans of existing SFPUC owned and operated 115 kilovolt (kV) and 230kV overhead power transmission lines are needed to bring them into compliance; and
WHEREAS, Due to the unique complexities of the design and construction required for this Project, the SFPUC has selected a best -value progressive design-build project delivery method in accordance with San Francisco Administrative Code section
6.61(c), which delivery method the General Manager approved on September 26, 2024; and
WHEREAS, On February 2, 2026, SFPUC advertised a Request for Qualifications and Proposals for Design- Build services for Contract No. DB-139R, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk; and
WHEREAS, The Engineer’s Estimate is $62,500,000 for this design-build contract to address clearance mitigation issues of existing SFPUC overhead power transmission lines under the SFPUC Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation program; and
WHEREAS, The contract duration is 1,200 consecutive calendar days; and
WHEREAS, On April 2, 2026, SFPUC received three proposals; and
WHEREAS, SFPUC staff and the Contract Monitoring Division (CMD) review ed the proposals and the application of bid preferences and have determined that Wilson Utility Construction Co. is the sole responsible proposer with a responsive proposal; and
WHEREAS, The CMD established a 10.00 % Local Business Enterprise (LBE) subcontracting requirement for the design (pre- construction) phase and 10.00% LBE subcontracting requirement for the construction phase of this contract, and Wilson Utility Construction Co. committed 11.09% LBE subcontractor participation for the design (pre- construction) phase in its proposal, and submitted a Certificate of Commitment to 10.00% LBE subcontractor participation for the construction phase; and
WHEREAS, On January 6, 2026, the Planning Department determined the Project to be exempt from environmental review under the C alifornia Environmental Quality Act
Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) (Case No. 2024- 002876ENV); and
WHEREAS, Funds are available from Project No. 10014089, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Commission hereby awards Contract No. DB-139R, Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk , in the Initial Contract Award not -to-exceed amount of $17,347,280, and a contract duration of 1,200 consecutive calendar days , to Wilson Utility Construction Co ., and authorizes commencement of design and pre- construction services only under Contract No. DB - 139R in the amount not-to-exceed $17,347,280 and with a duration of 1,200 consecutive calendar days.
I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was adopted by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission at its meeting of July 14, 2026.
Director of Commission Affairs
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
City & County of San Francisco
Daniel L Lurie, Mayor
Office of the City Administrator
Carmen Chu, City Administrator
Contract Monitoring Division
Regina Chan, Director
1455 Market Street, Suite 16A, San Francisco, CA 94103
Telephone (415) 554 0630
MEMORANDUM
Date: June 8, 2026
To: Erica Liang, SFPUC
Alex Burns, SFPUC
From: Jason Chow, CMD
Subject: DB-139R Transmission Line Clearance Mitigation Moderate and Low Risk CMD’s Award Memo
The SFPUC reviewed the Minimum Qualification Applications (MQA) submitted for DB-139R, by each Proposer to determine whether they met the SFPUC’s minimum qualifications for the project (the three firms below). After the review was completed, the SFPUC determined that two (2) of the Proposers— Sierra Mountain Construction, Inc. and Henkels & McCoy West LLC did not meet the minimum requirements and were therefore deemed non-responsive. The SFPUC did inform CMD that Wilson Utility Construction Co. (“Wilson”) did meet the minimum requirements associated with DB-139R.
Firm
Wilson Utility Construction Co.
Sierra Mountain Construction, Inc.1
Henkels & McCoy West LLC.2
In consideration of the above, CMD has reviewed the CMD submittals provided by Wilson at the time of the proposal due date. The LBE subcontractor participation requirement for this project is 10.00% for the Design Phase and 10.00% for the Construction Phase. The 10.00% LBE subcontractor participation requirement for the Design Phase must be met at the time of proposal due date. The
10.00% LBE subcontractor participation requirement for the Construction Phase will be met by the cumulative participation in the various trade packages.
Due to the anticipated time lapse between proposal submission and the submission of the construction bid packages, Proposers were required to submit the Certificate of Commitment to 10.00% LBE subcontracting for the Construction Phase, which Wilson did submit.
Wilson met the 10.00% LBE subcontractor participation requirement for the Design Phase by listing the following LBE firms on CMD Form 2A:
1 The SFPUC deemed said firm non-responsive.
2 The SFPUC deemed said firm non-responsive.
Firm Scope of Service LBE Status Committed LBE
Participation
Mike O’Dells
Surveying LiDAR Surveying SF LBE-MBE
(Micro) 1.85%
Ryan Joyce
Structural Design Foundation Design Work SF LBE-WBE
(Micro) 3.08%
Apex Testing Geotechnical Analysis SF LBE-MBE
(Small) 0.62%
SOHA Engineering Foundation Design Work SF LBE-OBE
(Small) 1.23%
Freyer & Laureta
Inc. Civil Road Design Work SF LBE-MBE
(Small) 3.08%
AMC Consulting
Engineers Foundation/Civil Road Work SF LBE-MBE
(Micro) 1.23%
TOTAL: 11.09%
After award and prior to the advertisement of any trade packages, Wilson will consult with CMD and submit a written plan for achieving the 10.00% LBE subcontracting participation requirement for the Construction Phase. The 10.00% Construction Phase LBE subcontracting requirement will be met through the various trade packages. The written plan will specify the LBE subcontracting participation percentage of each bid package based on the availability of LBEs to perform the work or supply materials and equipment for the subject trade package.
Based on the foregoing, CMD has determined that Wilson has complied with the Chapter 14B pre-award requirements associated with DB-139R. Should you have any questions, please contact Jason Chow at [email protected].