Official UK procurement notice
Ballycronanmore Synchronous Condenser Project
Authority: MUTUAL ENERGY LIMITED (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis is a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice (PMEN) issued under section 16 of the Procurement Act 2023. This Notice has been published through Mutual Energy Limited, however we reserve the right to change the Contracting Authority.
The Authority intends to undertake structured preliminary market engagement in respect of a proposed procurement for:
Ballycronanmore Synchronous Condenser Project
The purpose of this engagement is to:
- Inform procurement strategy and lotting structure
- Assess market capability and capacity
- Refine technical requirements
- Understand commercial and risk allocation models
- Assess programme deliverability
- Promote competition and innovation
This notice does not commence a procurement and does not constitute a call for competition.
The Authority is considering procuring one or more grid-connected synchronous condenser units to be located in Northern Ireland to provide:
- System inertia (MW·s)
- Short-circuit contribution
- Voltage support / reactive power capability
Indicative Technical Parameters (Subject to Change)
- Inertia target: Between 900MW.s and 4,000 MW·s (indicative)
- Grid connection voltage: 275kV
- Transformer rating: approx. 260 MVA (indicative)
The Authority is considering an EPC or EPC-wrap contracting model but seeks market feedback.
The scope of the project will be detailed and specified in the procurement documents includes all works necessary for the design, detailed design, engineering, procurement, manufacture, transportation; installation, construction, integration, testing, commissioning and provision of:
- a synchronous condenser and (if applicable) associated flywheel;
- overall system design;
- all auxiliaries required for the full operation of a synchronous condenser and flywheel;
- all balance of plant and equipment necessary for the operation of a synchronous condenser including step-up transformer/s, auxiliary transformer/s, switchgear;
- all civil works including civil designs and foundations;
- 275kV grid connection including high voltage cable system;
- performance and compliance testing;
- spares (both strategic and operational); and
- an option at the authorities discretion for long term maintenance services - duration to be specified.
Further details of the scope will be provided in the tender documents.
CPV: Construction work for power plant · Electric motors, generators and transformers · Electricity supply installations
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
Competition for Construction works for plants, mining and manufacturing and for buildings relating to the oil and gas industry (CPV 4525), and who usually turns up
MUTUAL ENERGY LIMITED has too little published record in this market to describe on its own. Published market evidence for the same work stands beside whatever it has. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Construction works for plants, mining and manufacturing and for buildings relating to the oil and gas industry (CPV 4525) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
No supplier sizes published for this authority.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Here, local means the winner is registered in the region where that contract was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered outside Northern Ireland.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 33 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid17%
2–333%
4–617%
7+33%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate55%
Within ±2%27%
Above estimate18%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 4525Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 96 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid23%
2–326%
4–625%
7+26%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 20 Feb 2026, 13:51 GMT
- Last source update
- 20 Feb 2026, 13:51 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-015705- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-065953Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
20 Feb 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published244 days ago20 Feb 2026, 13:51 GMT
- Market engagement205 days ago31 Mar 2026, 23:59 BST
The Mutual Energy Group ("Mutual") is undertaking preliminary engagement with a number of organisations that are known to operate within the relevant synchronous condenser market, including manufacturers and EPC contractors. This engagement has been conducted to inform our understanding of the market and potential delivery models before beginning the formal tendering process and it has been carried out predominantly through a combination of online and face to face meetings.
Mutual recognises that other organisations may also have relevant capability and experience. Any supplier that has not yet engaged with us in relation to the synchronous condenser project, but considers itself capable of delivering the proposed requirement is invited to contact Mutual Energy by sending an email to [email protected] for details of the next steps.
Mutual is committed to ensuring that all relevant information arising from preliminary market engagement is shared transparently in any subsequent procurement process, in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023.
Participation (or non-participation) in preliminary market engagement will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in any future procurement.
In-Tend registration:
Suppliers should register on the following portal which is where the tender will be published and responded to. The registration process is relatively simple and requires prospective suppliers to add details around their company, including registration information and contact details. There is a guide available for the process on the 'Supplier Guidance' tab of the portal, but any questions please reach out to [email protected]
In-tend portal address: in-tendhost.co.uk/mutual-energy/aspx/R… ↗
Participation is voluntary and at the supplier's own cost.
The Authority will conduct engagement in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023 and will:
- Ensure no supplier gains an unfair advantage
- Share material clarifications where appropriate
- Maintain a transparent audit trail
Participation in market engagement will not prejudice future participation in any subsequent procurement.
The Authority reserves the right to:
- Not proceed with the procurement
- Change scope or procurement model
- Divide the contract into lots
- Use a Competitive Flexible Procedure
Nothing in this notice constitutes a commitment to procure.
- Today22 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 160 days1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published20 Feb 2026, 13:51 GMTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender