If you are putting a project out to bid, the quality of the package you hand an electrical subcontractor decides how good the number back is. A thin package forces an estimator to guess, and a guess comes back padded with contingency to cover the unknowns. A complete package gets you a number close to what the work will actually cost.
Drawings and specifications
Send the full electrical drawing set, not just the one-line diagram. Include mechanical and plumbing drawings too, since an estimator needs to see where equipment lands to price feeders, disconnects and control wiring. Attach the specification sections that cover electrical work, along with any addenda issued during design. If drawings are still in progress, say so and note what is expected to change.
Site conditions
Tell the estimator what they are working with: existing service size and voltage, whether the site has three-phase power, soil conditions if underground work is involved, and access constraints such as a live building, restricted parking or limited working hours. A renovation inside an occupied building prices differently than new construction on an open lot, and the estimator needs that context up front.
Schedule and phasing
Include the project schedule, even a preliminary one. Electrical work depends on other trades: slab pours, wall closures, roof deck. If the schedule has phasing or a fast-track sequence, spell it out. Long-lead equipment such as switchgear or a service transformer can take months to arrive, and an estimator needs to know the completion date to flag that risk early rather than after award.
Scope boundaries
State clearly what is included and what is not. Who supplies temporary power during construction. Who is responsible for utility coordination and metering. Whether fire alarm, low voltage cabling or building automation controls are part of this scope or a separate contract. Ambiguity here is where change orders start.
Allowances and unit prices
If certain items are not fully designed, for example light fixtures or a final panel schedule, say so and ask for an allowance rather than leaving the estimator to price a placeholder as if it were final. Ask for unit prices on items likely to change, such as additional device drops or conduit runs, so adjustments later have an agreed basis instead of a negotiation.
Who to call with questions
Name a single point of contact for technical questions during the bid period, and set a date for a pre-bid meeting or site walk if the project warrants one. A short question answered during bidding is cheaper than a clarification handled as a change order after award.
Bid form and submission requirements
Spell out the bid form itself: whether pricing is expected as a stipulated sum, unit prices, or a combination, and whether alternates or separate prices are requested for specific items. State the submission deadline, the format expected, whether a hard copy is required alongside an electronic one, and who receives it. A bid rejected on a technicality over format wastes the time both sides put into pricing it.
Addenda and questions during bidding
Once the package is out, questions will come in. Answer them in writing and issue the answer to every bidder as a numbered addendum, not as a private reply to whoever asked. This keeps every estimator pricing the same information and avoids a bid protest later over an answer only one contractor received. Set a cutoff date for questions early enough that an addendum can go out with time left to reprice before the deadline.
Putting it together
None of this needs to be complicated. A cover letter that lists what is attached, states the bid due date and format, and flags anything unusual about the site or schedule goes a long way. Estimators price risk into every unknown, so the fewer unknowns in the package, the tighter the number.
Puffin Power bids commercial and infrastructure electrical work across Newfoundland and Labrador and the wider Atlantic region, working design-build or as a subcontractor on design-bid-build projects. Our design-build team can also help scope a project before it goes to tender, so the bid package reflects what will actually be built.
Talk to Puffin Power
If you are assembling a bid package and want an electrical contractor's read on it before it goes out, contact us or call (709) 769-9713. We can also walk the site with you ahead of a pre-bid meeting.
Published 2026-09-23 · About 3 minute read