KEYS Bid 18-26 — Pole Inspections

Keys Energy Services (KEYS), a municipal electric utility serving the lower Florida Keys, is soliciting bids for comprehensive pole inspections covering approximately 50% of its service area, including the City of Key West to Shark Key. The contract scope includes visual inspection of all distribution and transmission poles (wood, concrete, and ductile iron), and supplemental sounding and boring of wood poles to assess structural integrity. The contractor will also perform pole loading assessments based on NESC Light Loading District criteria, conduct joint use surveys of third-party attachments, and capture digital photographs with GPS coordinates. Data must be delivered via a geospatial software application that enables querying, reporting, and export to Access or Excel. The contract is anticipated to be awarded in September 2026, with work scheduled to begin October 1, 2026 and conclude by September 30, 2027.

The contractor must furnish all supervision, labor, tools, equipment, and materials required for the evaluation, inspection, and reporting. Each work crew must use an iOS device with KEYS's Partner program for pole identification. Inspectors must have at least three years of pole inspection experience. For wood poles, excavation to a minimum depth of 18 inches is required, followed by sounding and boring at the ground line. All poles will be tagged with weatherproof tags indicating work performed. The contractor must conduct quality control inspections weekly, with at least three poles re-inspected per quality control check. A 5% bid bond is required, and the proposal must remain firm for 120 days.

Deliverables include digital photographs (minimum 12 MP), GPS coordinates, weekly inspection reports with detailed category counts, pole loading calculation results, and a final geospatial database. Reports must include information on decay, rejects, priority poles, ground wire repair, cross arm identification, and ductile iron pole coating condition. The contractor warrants inspection services for one year following acceptance. The evaluation matrix allocates 40% weight to price, 25% to similar projects, 15% to references, 10% to experience, and 10% to schedule. KEYS reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to negotiate with the highest-ranked proposer.

Key dates: Proposals are due by 10:00 a.m. on Friday, August 21, 2026. Questions must be submitted in writing via email to purchasing@keysenergy.com by noon on Friday, August 7, 2026. The bid opening will be held virtually at 10:00 a.m. on August 21, 2026. The contract start date is October 1, 2026, with substantial completion required by September 30, 2027, subject to liquidated damages of $500 per day for delays.

KEYS Bid 18-26 — Pole Inspections

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