The Keith Companies Inc., best known for its real estate engineering services, has won a series of contracts from a PG & E; Corp. subsidiary for more than a dozen “peaker projects” designed to provide additional electricity during periods of high demand.
The work will be performed by the Costa Mesa firm’s Electrical Services Inc. unit, which it acquired in 1997 as part of an effort to broaden its offerings.
The contracts were awarded by National Energy Group, the unregulated subsidiary of PG & E; Corp. affiliated with its regulated utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Financial details of the contracts were not released.
The energy work is part of an evolving shift for The Keith Companies. It’s well known for its engineering work in the real estate industry, but the recession of the early 1990s convinced its executives to expand into other fields.
ESI will provide engineering and design services and help in site selection, licensing, permitting and coordinating connections to local utilities. ESI currently is providing similar services for three projects in Ohio and two in California.
Company officials believe that the threat of blackouts should lead to the construction of smaller power plants and that should lead to more contracts similar to those from National Energy.
“It’s a part of the company that will jump start us into a whole new segment of the industry that we’re very excited about,” said Eric Nielson, president of The Keith Cos.
The Keith Cos. went public last year and has a market cap of about $27 million. Its share price has risen more than 30% in the past two months, to about 5 1/2 late last week.
The 500-employee firm provides engineering, consulting and technical services to clients in the real estate development, public works, wireless telecommunications and industrial engineering industries.
For the quarter ended June 30, it reported revenue of $12.7 million, a 47% increase from the same period of 1999. The company also reported a 163% increase in net income to $1.1 million. n
