Wood Pole Inspection, Treatment, Repair, and UAV Inspection Services

Post Information
Posted At:
Tue, Sep 1, 2026 1:58 PM
Sealed Bid Process:
Yes (Bids Sealed / Pricing Sealed)
Private Bid:
No

1. Introduction
   1.1. Summary

The City of Pasadena Water and Power Department (“PWP”) is seeking proposals from qualified and experienced firms to provide wood pole inspection, repair, restoration, treatment, and related reporting services for PWP’s electric distribution system. The selected firm will support PWP’s ongoing maintenance and compliance program for wood poles, including visual inspections, intrusive inspections, groundline inspections, preservative treatments, minor corrective repairs, pole reinforcement recommendations, installation of approved repair materials, and detailed reporting of observed conditions.

PWP’s wood pole program is intended to support safe, reliable, and compliant operation of the electric distribution system in accordance with applicable requirements, including California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) General Order 95, Rules for Overhead Electric Line Construction, and CPUC General Order 165, Inspection Requirements for Electric Distribution and Transmission Facilities. PWP’s system includes approximately 11,000 wood poles, including both municipally owned and jointly owned poles. A significant portion of the pole population is located in rear property or otherwise constrained access locations.

The scope of services may include, but is not limited to, pole condition assessment, identification of structural damage or decay, inspection for General Order 95 infractions, groundline and below-ground inspections, preservative and fumigant treatment, installation of visibility strips, guy guards, ground molding, pole tags, and steel truss reinforcement where approved by PWP. The selected firm shall also provide detailed inspection records, photographs, condition ratings, repair recommendations, and electronic data deliverables in a format acceptable to PWP.

In addition to conventional field inspection and treatment services, PWP intends to include drone or other unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) inspection services under the resulting contract. UAV services may be used to supplement field inspections, improve access to difficult or hazardous locations, document pole-top conditions, capture high-resolution imagery, and support more efficient assessment of pole attachments, crossarms, hardware, conductors, insulators, and other visible overhead facilities. UAV services shall be performed by qualified, FAA-compliant personnel and in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local requirements.

The selected firm shall furnish all supervision, labor, materials, equipment, vehicles, tools, technology, software, transportation, permits, methods, processes, and incidentals necessary to complete the work in accordance with the final scope of services, applicable laws and regulations, industry standards, and PWP requirements.

1.2. Background

The City of Pasadena is an ethnically diverse community that is home to approximately 142,017 people. Pasadena is the ninth-largest city in Los Angeles County. It is one of the primary cultural centers of the San Gabriel Valley. The City covers approximately 22.5 square miles, with an average of ten residents per acre. The median age of its residents is approximately 36.9 years. There are over 100,000 jobs in a wide variety of industries in the City of Pasadena.

Pasadena Water and Power is a municipally owned and operated utility that provides electric and water service to the city of Pasadena. PWP owns, operates, and maintains a citywide electric distribution system that serves residential, commercial, institutional, and municipal customers throughout an approximately 23-square-mile service area.

PWP’s Power Delivery Division is responsible for the operation, maintenance, engineering, construction, and reliability of the electric distribution system. This work is performed through multiple functional groups, including Engineering, Transmission and Distribution, Meter, Substation Maintenance, Power Dispatch, and related support sections. These groups collectively support system reliability, public safety, emergency response, capital improvement projects, routine maintenance, and regulatory compliance.

PWP’s overhead distribution system includes approximately 11,000 wood poles, including both City-owned and jointly owned poles. The pole population includes poles located in streets, alleys, easements, rear property areas, and other locations that may present varying levels of access difficulty. Many poles support multiple facilities and attachments, including electric distribution conductors, transformers, streetlight equipment, communication attachments, grounding systems, guying, and related appurtenances.

Wood pole inspection, treatment, repair, and documentation are essential to maintaining the integrity of PWP’s overhead distribution system. Properly performed inspections help identify decay, insect damage, mechanical damage, pole-top defects, pole-line hardware issues, groundline deterioration, unsafe conditions, and potential General Order 95 infractions. Preservative treatment and approved reinforcement methods may extend the useful life of serviceable poles, while timely reporting allows PWP to plan corrective maintenance, replacement, or other follow-up work.

The previous contract for these services was established through an Invitation for Bids process. For this procurement, PWP intends to use a Request for Proposals process to allow the City to evaluate proposer qualifications, inspection methodology, technical approach, staffing, data management capabilities, safety practices, quality control procedures, experience with utility wood pole programs, and ability to incorporate modern inspection tools, including drone/UAV services. This approach is intended to provide PWP with greater flexibility to select the firm that offers the best overall combination of technical competence, regulatory understanding, field capability, data quality, and value.

1.3. Contact Information

Deadline for Questions

The deadline to submit questions related to this solicitation is Tuesday, September 15, 2026, prior to 11:00 am.

Questions regarding this solicitation should be submitted directly through the City's eProcurement Portal Q&A function. Do not contact any City employee or official regarding this solicitation. Any questions submitted after the date and time specified may not be considered.

Project Contact:
Renea Rangel
Management Analyst III
Email: rerangel@cityofpasadena.net
Phone: (626) 744-4447

Procurement Contact:
Antonio Watson
Project Manager
Email: awatson@cityofpasadena.net
Phone: (626) 744-8382

Department:
Water & Power Department, Power Delivery

1.4. Timeline
Release Project Date:
September 1, 2026
Question Submission Deadline:
September 15, 2026, 11:00am
Proposal Submission Deadline:
October 13, 2026, 11:00am
2. General Instructions
2.1. NOTICE REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF CONTENTS OF DOCUMENT

All responses to this Request for Proposal (RFP) accepted by the City of Pasadena (City) shall become the exclusive property of the City. At such time as the City Manager recommends a contractor to the City Council, and such recommendation, with any recommended contract appears on the Council agenda, all proposals accepted by the City shall become a matter of public record and shall be regarded as public, with the exception of those elements of each proposal which are defined by the contractor as business or trade secrets and plainly marked as "Trade Secret", "Confidential" or "Proprietary". Each element of a proposal which a contractor desires not to be considered a public record must be clearly marked as set forth above, and any blanket statement (i.e. regarding entire pages, documents or other non-specific designations) shall not be sufficient and shall not bind the City in any way whatsoever. If disclosure is required or permitted under the California Public Records Act or otherwise by law, the City shall not in any way be liable or responsible for the disclosure of any such records or part thereof.

2.2. Electronic Submission and Delivery Instructions

Parties interested in responding are required to submit proposals electronically through the City of Pasadena's eProcurement Portal no later than 11:00 am on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Please upload sufficiently early electronically through the city's eProcurement Portal before the time and day listed in the Notice Inviting Proposals. Proposals must be received in the system prior to the deadline.

The entire proposal must be formatted on standard-size 8½”x11” pages; 12 point font only. The "Technical Proposal," "Additional Data," and "Statement of Qualifications" can be no more than 50 grand total pages.

The Price Proposal must include all costs associated with the Technical Proposal as described in the Price Proposal instructions in the “#Proposer's Submittals/Checklist.”

The Technical Proposal should disclose your technical approach in as much detail as possible, including, but not limited to, the requirements of the technical proposal instructions. Along with all required forms and submittals (See #Attachments, and #Proposer's Submittals/Checklist. No Pricing shall be included in this part.

Proposals received after the Proposal Deadline may not be accepted by the City.

2.3. Technical Proposal

The proposal must be prepared in two parts: a "Technical Proposal" and a "Price Proposal." Each of the parts shall be separate and complete in itself so evaluation of one may be accomplished separate from the evaluation of the other.  The Technical Proposal should disclose your technical approach in as much detail as possible, including, but not limited to, the requirements of the technical proposal instructions. Along with all required forms and submittals (See #Attachments, and Submittals/Checklist. No Pricing shall be included in this part.

The proposer shall submit a complete technical proposal describing how it will perform the services required by this solicitation. The technical proposal should be sufficiently detailed to allow the City to evaluate the proposer’s understanding of the work, proposed methodology, qualifications, staffing, safety and quality control practices, reporting capabilities, technology, and ability to successfully perform the services.

The technical proposal shall be organized using the headings and sequence below. Proposers should provide specific information, examples, and supporting documentation rather than general statements or restatements of the Scope of Work.

The technical proposal shall not include pricing. All pricing shall be submitted separately in the Cost Proposal in accordance with the solicitation requirements.

1. Executive Summary

The proposer shall provide a concise executive summary, not exceeding two pages, that includes:

a. A brief overview of the proposer’s recommended approach to performing the required services;

b. The proposer’s principal qualifications and experience relevant to the project;

c. Identification of the proposed project manager and key subcontractors, if applicable; and

d. The principal features or advantages that distinguish the proposal.

Detailed information regarding project understanding, methodology, staffing, qualifications, innovations, assumptions, and exceptions shall be provided in the applicable sections of the Technical Proposal.

2. Understanding of the Project and PWP’s Operating Environment

The proposer shall demonstrate its understanding of PWP’s wood pole system, operating environment, and project requirements.

The response shall address, at a minimum:

a. The purpose and objectives of PWP’s wood pole inspection, treatment, repair, and restoration program;

b. The importance of maintaining compliance with applicable California Public Utilities Commission General Orders, including General Orders 95 and 165;

c. The operational and safety considerations associated with performing work near energized electric distribution facilities;

d. The challenges associated with inspecting and treating poles located in rear-property areas, alleys, easements, landscaped areas, paved areas, constrained-access locations, and private property;

e. The potential presence of jointly owned poles and facilities belonging to communication companies or other utilities;

f. The need to coordinate work with PWP personnel, customers, property owners, public agencies, and other affected parties;

g. The importance of accurate and timely reporting of hazardous, urgent, or potentially noncompliant conditions;

h. The importance of maintaining complete, accurate, and usable inspection and maintenance records; and

i. The proposer’s identification of significant project risks, constraints, or implementation challenges and its recommended approach to addressing them.

3. Technical Approach and Work Methodology

The proposer shall describe its proposed methodology for performing the required services. The response shall explain how the proposed approach meets or exceeds the minimum requirements stated in the Scope of Work.

3.1 Visual Inspection

The proposer shall describe:

a. Its procedures for visually inspecting poles from the groundline to the pole top;

b. The conditions, defects, attachments, and potential General Order 95 issues that will be evaluated;

c. The tools, forms, software, and equipment used during visual inspections;

d. Its approach to documenting pole lean, cracks, checks, decay, fire damage, insect or animal damage, damaged attachments, grounding deficiencies, clearance concerns, and other observable conditions;

e. Its approach to photographing and documenting each inspected pole;

f. Its procedures for identifying and immediately reporting hazardous or urgent conditions; and

g. Any limitations of visual inspection and when additional investigation would be recommended.

3.2 Intrusive, Groundline, and Below-Ground Inspection

The proposer shall describe:

a. Its methodology for sounding, boring, probing, excavation, shell-thickness measurement, and evaluation of internal or external decay;

b. The tools and equipment used to conduct intrusive and below-ground inspections;

c. Its procedures for identifying hollow heart, shell rot, internal decay, insect galleries, external decay, and other structural deficiencies;

d. Its method for determining effective groundline circumference or remaining pole strength;

e. Its approach to poles located in asphalt, concrete, sidewalks, landscaped areas, or other difficult surfaces;

f. Its procedures for plugging inspection holes, backfilling excavations, replacing sod, and restoring the work area;

g. Its approach to minimizing damage to landscaping and private or public property; and

h. Any alternate or supplemental inspection technologies proposed.

3.3 Pole Condition Assessment and Recommendations

The proposer shall describe its method for evaluating and classifying pole condition.

The response shall include:

a. The proposed pole-condition rating or classification system;

b. The criteria used to determine whether a pole may remain in service without corrective action;

c. The criteria used to recommend treatment, monitoring, reinforcement, repair, or replacement;

d. The methodology used to evaluate remaining pole strength;

e. The process for documenting the basis for each recommendation;

f. The p

Attached documents:
• Wood_Pole_Inspection,_Treatment,Repair,and_UAV_Inspection_Services(Addendum#2_Revision).pdf
• A - Wood_Pole_Inspection_Specs_Attachment_A-FY27
• B - Insurance Requirements - Utility Pole Inspection Services
• D - Master Services Contract
• E - REQUIRED FORMS - AAs - SIG-LEGAL-STATUS - DECLARATION OF NONCOLUSION 08022024 v2
• F - DISQUALIFICATION_DISCLOSURE (4)
• H - CONFLICT_OF_INTEREST (5)
• N - Pasadena_Taxpayer_Protection_Amendment_Disclosure (2)
• O - DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVESdocx