Several projects in the SF Bay Area that are scheduled for construction in 2017 have had bid openings in the last month or two.  A pattern of higher bid prices for electrical work has emerged, and a smaller number of bids are being submitted (one of two instead of the usual four or five).  W-Trans staff have spoken with estimators from four electrical contractors.  Our summary is that contractors have an abundance of work to bid on and do not have any need to "sharpen their pencils" this year.  

Bid prices have been reported as 10-20% higher than usual when the electrical contractor is prime, and as much as 50% higher when the electrical contractor is a subcontractor subject to markup by the prime.  Designers and estimators might want to mark up estimated prices for the rest of the year.