Government electrical contracts for electrical contractors and electricians
Government electrical contracts post on SAM.gov every business day, but they rarely say "electrical" where you would look for it. On October 23, 2026 the public SAM.gov file held 31 open electrical solicitations out of 5,102 open federal solicitations, and 25 of them carried the electrical contractor code 238210. The rest sat under building construction, repair and maintenance or power line codes, with titles like "J061, Triennial Circuit Breaker and Feeder Testing" or "Black Rock Lock High Mast Lighting Project". FederalContracts reads every new federal notice the morning after it posts, scores it out of 100 against your trades, codes, set-asides and states, and sends one short list with the best fits first.
A two truck service electrician in Ohio and a veteran owned contractor upgrading medium voltage feeders at VA hospitals should not be reading the same list.
| Match | Solicitation and agency | NAICS | Set-aside | Place of performance | Response due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78 | J061--541 Electrical Power Distribution Equipment Testing, Inspection, and Maintenance - VAMC Cleveland | 238210 | Total small business | Cleveland, Ohio | 30 Oct 3 days left |
| 76 | FCI Elkton - Upgrade Fire Pump | 238210 | Total small business | Lisbon, Ohio | 30 Oct 3 days left |
| 76 | Z--SACN Replace Fire Alarms and Intrusions Systems | 238210 | Total small business | Not stated | 30 Nov |
| 74 | Z1DA--692-21-101 CON NRM Improve Site Lighting and Lighting Controls for Energy Efficiency | 238210 | SDVOSB | Not stated | 3 Nov 7 days left |
| 73 | Z2DA--523A4-CSI-288 3.0T MRI Site Prep - Design Build West Roxbury VA Medical Center (VAMC_ West Roxbury, MA | 236220 | SDVOSB | Not stated | 27 Nov |
Where do I find government electrical contracts?
You find federal electrical contracts on SAM.gov under Contract Opportunities, filtered by NAICS 238210 (electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors) and by service codes J061 and J059 for electrical equipment maintenance, plus construction codes Z1 and Z2. Also search the notice text for "electrical", "generator", "switchgear" and "fire alarm", because many jobs post under 236220. State and city electrical bids are on each buyer's own portal.
| Where the work is | Typical buyers | What it looks like | How you get in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical construction and upgrades | VA medical centers, Army and Air Force bases, Bureau of Prisons, Department of Energy labs | Feeder and panel replacements, substation and distribution upgrades, site lighting, generator installs | |
| Testing and maintenance services | VA networks, Navy shipyards, FEMA, embassies | Triennial electrical testing, transformer and breaker service, generator maintenance and load banking | |
| Fire alarm and life safety | VA, Bureau of Prisons, Corps of Engineers, State Department | Fire alarm and mass notification replacements, fire detection upgrades, alarm maintenance | |
| Low voltage and cabling | Army, Air Force, Forest Service, VA | Network cabling, fiber to towers, audio visual and video conference rooms | |
| Job order contracts and IDIQs | NAVFAC, Army districts, Air Force civil engineering | Multiple award electrical and wiring pools priced from a unit price book |
The ranked list covers the SAM.gov side every morning. On Capture it adds New York City bids from the City Record, so a city school lighting job and a VA feeder upgrade land in the same list. Other states and cities are not covered.
Electrical contracts for bid in a typical month
In the 30 days before October 23, 2026, federal buyers posted 69 electrical solicitations, presolicitations and sources sought notices, and 45 of them carried NAICS 238210. All of them are public records, and the mix shows where federal electrical money goes.
- VA medical centers. Veterans Affairs posted 28 of the 69: medium voltage feeder upgrades, "Replace Electrical Panels and Expand Distribution", a life safety and critical branch distribution upgrade in Brooklyn, site lighting and lighting controls, transformer testing in Albany and triennial electrical testing contracts in Illinois, Ohio, Georgia and West Virginia.
- Air Force, Navy and Army. Together 22 notices: a generator procured and installed at an Air National Guard building in Pennsylvania, airfield lighting, UPS refurbishment at a Navy site in Washington, diesel generator maintenance at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, high mast lighting at a Corps lock and a fire alarm modernization at the Soo Locks.
- Prisons and labs. The Bureau of Prisons posted a fire detection upgrade in Honolulu and an 8(a) project to replace generators, transformers and electrical infrastructure at FCI Three Rivers in Texas. Energy labs posted a substation upgrade in New York and a substation annex building in California.
- Land agencies and FEMA. A ranger station lift station electrical repair in Idaho, backup generator repairs at Johnston Ridge Observatory and two FEMA requests for information on generator maintenance in and outside the continental US.
Notice the titles. "Repair Electrical Systems" is easy to spot. "Z1DA, 692-21-101 CON NRM" only tells you it is a VA project until you read the scope, which is why the matcher reads the full notice text, not only the title.
Most federal electrical work is set aside for small business
Of the 69 electrical notices in those 30 days, 27 were total small business set-asides, 15 were set aside for or sole sourced to service disabled veteran owned small businesses, 1 was a veteran owned set-aside under the VA's own rules and 1 was an 8(a) set-aside. About a third were open to any size of company.
The SBA size standard for NAICS 238210 is 19 million USD in average annual receipts, so most electrical contractors count as small. If you are veteran owned, government contracts for veterans explains how VA Veterans First and SDVOSB set-asides work, because VA electrical work is where most of those set-asides sit. If you hold 8(a), 8(a) and minority owned contracts shows how few 8(a) notices post and what else to bid.
Electrical NAICS and service codes the matching reads
Put every code you can perform on your profile. A generator replacement posts under 238210 at one office, under 236220 at another and under 811310 when it is written as equipment repair.
| Code | What it covers | Typical federal notice |
|---|---|---|
| NAICS 238210 | Electrical contractors and other wiring installation contractors | Panels, feeders, lighting, fire alarm, cabling, generator installs |
| NAICS 236220 | Commercial and institutional building construction | Electrical work bundled with plumbing, HVAC or a building renovation |
| NAICS 811310 | Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance | Generator maintenance, load bank testing, switchgear repair |
| NAICS 237130 | Power and communication line construction | Distribution lines, base electrical infrastructure, airfield power |
| NAICS 221122 | Electric power distribution | Long term distribution system testing and operation |
| PSC J061 and J059 | Maintenance and repair of electrical equipment and components | Triennial testing, transformer service, breaker and feeder testing |
| PSC Z1 and Z2 | Maintenance, repair and alteration of real property | Z1DA VA facilities, Z2NZ other buildings, Z2FF prisons |
What decides whether you win a government electrical contract
- Construction or service. Installing or upgrading electrical systems is construction, so contracts over 2,000 USD carry Davis-Bacon prevailing wages and certified weekly payroll at the electrician rates in the wage determination. Testing and maintenance contracts are services and carry Service Contract Act wages above 2,500 USD instead. Read which one the notice attaches before you price labor.
- Bonds. The Miller Act requires performance and payment bonds on federal construction over 150,000 USD, usually each at 100% of the price, and sealed bids need a bid guarantee. A full distribution upgrade at a medical center can outrun a small contractor's bonding line.
- Licensing and certifications. Notices ask for a master or journeyman electrician licensed in the state, and testing work often asks for NETA certified technicians and tests to NFPA 70B. Fire alarm work usually wants NICET certified staff and a state fire alarm license.
- Outages and safety. Hospital and base work is done around scheduled outages, with arc flash procedures under NFPA 70E and, on Corps of Engineers jobs, an accident prevention plan under EM 385-1-1. The outage plan is often where a bid is won or lost.
- Small jobs first. Contracts under the simplified acquisition threshold, now 350,000 USD, use faster procedures and are usually set aside for small business. A lighting retrofit or a generator repair there builds the past performance that IDIQs and hospital upgrades ask for.
- Site visits. Most electrical construction notices hold one site visit, and the panel schedules, existing gear and access you see there decide your number. A list that shows the site visit date on day one beats a longer list you read a week late.
How electrical bid matching works
- Describe your work in one line. Electrical distribution, panel and feeder replacement, generators, fire alarm, lighting retrofits, testing and maintenance, low voltage cabling. The matcher reads the full notice text against it, so a notice titled by a VA project number still reaches you when the scope is a feeder upgrade.
- We read every new notice. Each federal solicitation, presolicitation and sources sought notice is read in full the morning after it posts, not only the title and the NAICS code.
- Each notice gets a score out of 100 with a reason. Scope fit, set-aside eligibility, place of performance and days left to respond, so a testing contract inside your service area ranks above a power plant in Djibouti.
- You get one short list. The best fits first, with the due date and the award history of similar contracts, so you know who did the last electrical upgrade at that medical center before you price the next one.
Who pays for an electrical bid list
- Commercial electrical contractors. Firms that already wire schools, warehouses and hospitals add federal buildings within driving distance of their crews.
- Veteran owned electrical companies. An SDVOSB near a VA medical center sees the set-aside feeder, panel and lighting work ranked above notices it cannot bid.
- Testing and maintenance firms. Electrical testing companies and generator service shops see the triennial testing, transformer and load bank contracts that general electricians pass on.
- Fire alarm and low voltage contractors. Alarm, cabling and audio visual installers see the life safety and network work that posts under 238210 next to power jobs.
- Estimators and owners pricing their own bids. A contractor who prices three federal jobs a month needs the right three on Monday morning with the site visit date, not ninety construction notices to sort.
Ways to find electrical bids compared
| Option | What you get | What it costs | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAM.gov saved searches | Every federal notice by keyword or code, emailed raw | Free | |
| Construction bid services | Private and public plans and bids, mostly building projects | Typically several hundred to a few thousand USD a year | |
| Bid aggregators | Federal, state and local notices in one feed | From about 599 USD a year for one state on BidNet Direct to five figures nationally | |
| Research databases | Award history, forecasts, contacts | GovTribe from 1,500 USD a year, GovWin IQ quoted in five figures | |
| FederalContracts | Federal notices scored out of 100 against your work, codes and set-asides, with the reason and the deadline | 129 USD a month, or 768 USD a year on Bid Desk |
If most of your work is private commercial jobs from general contractors, a construction plans room does more than we do. If the problem is catching the few federal electrical notices a week that fit your crews and licenses before the site visit, the ranked list is what saves the time. Government bidding sites compared lists the official portals and paid services side by side.
What electrical contractors get on each plan
- Bid Desk, 129 USD a month or 768 USD a year. Federal solicitations, 1 company profile, 3 seats, 5 saved searches, a daily ranked digest, deadline reminders and 3 years of competitor award history, so you see who won the last electrical job at that base before you price.
- Capture, 349 USD a month or 2,088 USD a year. Federal solicitations plus New York City bids from the City Record, 5 business lines (for example electrical construction, testing and maintenance, and fire alarm as separate lines), 15 seats, per business line digests and full award history with exports.
Every plan feature is on our plans and pricing page. Annual billing costs half of twelve monthly payments.
How to get government electrical contracts?
To get government electrical contracts, register in SAM.gov with NAICS 238210 and the related codes you perform, claim every set-aside you qualify for and bid electrical notices within reach of your crews. Start with lighting, repair and testing jobs under the simplified acquisition threshold, price labor from the attached wage determination and use those jobs as past performance for larger upgrades.
What is the NAICS code for electrical contractors?
The NAICS code for electrical contractors is 238210, Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors. Its SBA small business size standard is 19 million USD in average annual receipts. Federal electrical work also posts under 236220 for bundled building work, 811310 for generator and switchgear maintenance and 237130 for power line construction.
Who buys the most federal electrical work?
Veterans Affairs posted more electrical notices than any other agency in the 30 days before October 23, 2026, 28 of 69, mostly distribution upgrades, panel replacements, lighting and triennial testing at medical centers. The Air Force, Navy and Army together posted 22, followed by Interior, Agriculture, the Bureau of Prisons and Energy.
Do electricians need to be bonded for government contracts?
Yes for federal construction over 150,000 USD. The Miller Act requires a performance bond and a payment bond, usually each at 100% of the contract price, and sealed bids need a bid guarantee. Testing, maintenance and small repair contracts usually need no bond, which is why many electrical contractors start there.
Does Davis-Bacon apply to electrical contracts?
Davis-Bacon applies to federal electrical construction over 2,000 USD, which covers installing, upgrading or replacing electrical systems in a federal building, with certified weekly payroll at the electrician rates in the wage determination. Electrical testing and maintenance contracts are services, so the Service Contract Act wage determination applies to them instead.
Are government electrical contracts profitable?
Government electrical contracts can be profitable because payment is reliable, most jobs are set aside for small firms and licensing and certification requirements keep out unqualified bidders. Margins depend on pricing the right wage determination, planning outages at the site visit and choosing work close enough to keep crews on schedule.
See today's electrical contracts ranked for your company
Choose the electrical profile above, or type your own work, state and NAICS codes. Bid Match ranks a dated snapshot of public federal solicitation records against them, so you see the list you would get each morning before you pay anything.
Related reading: government construction contracts, government HVAC contracts, government roofing contracts, government security contracts, federal construction bid opportunities, government contract alerts.