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City awards $117.7 million contract to rebuild Keifer and Scott receiving stations; budget amendment approved
Summary
The council awarded a public‑works contract for the Keifer and Scott receiving‑station rebuilds to DMZ Builders for $117,688,674, approved an overall change‑order cap of 15% and authorized a $15 million budget amendment to the electric utility capital fund to cover additional program costs and equipment.
The Santa Clara City Council approved the first construction contract tied to Silicon Valley Power’s system expansion program Tuesday, awarding DMZ Builders the public‑works contract to rebuild the Keifer and Scott receiving stations. The contract award of $117,688,674 was 3% below the city’s engineer’s estimate; staff also approved change‑order authority up to 15% (about $17.65 million) and a fiscal‑year 2025–26 budget amendment adding $15 million in the electric capital fund to cover program and construction management services and additional equipment.
Acting SVP Director Niko Prokos and SVP system‑expansion manager Ali Jackman described the project as a multi‑year, multi‑part rebuilding of the 60 kV and 115 kV yards at both receiving stations, replacement of aging equipment and an increase in station capacity. “We're replacing the end‑of‑life infrastructure and increasing our capacity,” Jackman said, noting that Keifer was built in 1955 and Scott in 1975. She said the upgrades will increase combined capacity from roughly 372 MVA to over 600 MVA per site and are a foundational element of a program to support the city’s increasing electric load.
Jackman summarized the procurement history: two bids were received, with one bidder (Neutron LLC) submitting an inadvertent bid with a dropped leading digit; after that bidder withdrew its submission, DMZ Builders remained as the low responsive bidder. Staff recommended award and explained the requested budget amendment — $6 million for Kiefer and $9 million for Scott — to cover program management, construction management, testing and long‑lead equipment purchases such as transformers.
Council member Gonzales moved the award, seconded by Council member Hardy. Council member Chahal recused himself from the item because he holds property within the project jurisdiction and left the dais before the vote. The council voted 6–0 in favor of the contract award and budget amendment.
Staff said construction procurement and long‑lead equipment purchases began in 2023 and that the construction schedule targets substantial completion of the 115 kV yard in the third quarter of 2027, 60 kV work in 2028 and a final closeout in early 2029. SVP staff said they would continue negotiation and oversight of change orders and return as needed for council approvals on major modifications.
The action is the first major construction award under SVP’s program to increase system capacity and reliability to meet projected local load growth.
