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Published 12 Dec 2023, 17:01 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

Eastern Green Link 3, Scotland to Norfolk, England HVDC Link Project-Cables

Official notice

Authority: NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC (Public body)·Consortium: 2 public authorities

WorksNegotiated procedure with prior call for competition
Published estimate£2,500,000,000exc. VAT
Submissions closed 22 Jan 2024

What is being bought

Published requirement description

National Grid Electricity Transmission PLC and Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission PLC (the "Employers") are jointly developing a HVDC link between the Netherton Hub, west of Peterhead, Scotland and Norfolk, England (the "HVDC Link"). This notice concerns the procurement and award of contract(s) for:

  • Design, supply, manufacture, install, test and commission 525kV HVDC submarine and underground cable system, including but not limited to:
  • extruded cable systems at along with all associated cable accessories
  • HVDC submarine cable supply and complete installation including lay, jointing and burial. The submarine route length is expected to be in the range of 540 to 580km.
  • HVDC onshore underground cable system supply, installation and associated civil engineering works as required that will link the Peterhead site in Scotland to the adjacent coast. The onshore route length of this element is approximately 10 km.
  • AC cable circa 1km at Peterhead site in Scotland, 3-10km at Norfolk site.
  • There is an option that it will be routed through a DCSS (DC Switching Station) also to be located within the Netherton Hub
  • Design, supply but not install the cable that is to be routed onshore between the Lincolnshire coast and Norfolk, England. The onshore route length of this element is expected to be in the range of 90 to 135km. This cable will be installed onshore by others.
  • Jointing of the onshore cable between Lincolnshire and Norfolk, the provision of installation instructions for use by the installation contractor and technical supervision of the onshore cable installation.
  • Provision of cable spares and storage facilities for cable spares.
  • Design, engineer, prepare, procure and install HDD (Horizontal Direct Drilling) ducts as required at the landfalls in both Scotland and England.
  • Front-end engineering design services, in relation to any or all of the aforementioned scope.
  • The Employers will require the Preferred Bidder to enter a Long-Term Service Agreement (LTSA) for the cable systems, either as part of the main contract or a standalone contract. This may be structured as an agreement with the Employers either acting jointly or as a Joint Venture, or as separate LTSAs with each Employer with regard to separate sections of the cable.

CPV: Construction work · Construction work for electricity power lines · Electricity distribution and control apparatus · High-voltage cable · Installation of cable laying · Submarine cable

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1Design, supply, manufacture, install, test and commission of 525kV HVDC submarine and…Published value£2,500,000,000

Design, supply, manufacture, install, test and commission of 525kV HVDC submarine and underground cable system and HVDC onshore underground cable system supply, installation and associated civil engineering works as required that will link the Netherton Hub near Peterhead in Scotland to the adjacent coast. Design, supply but not install the cable that is to be routed onshore between the Lincolnshire coast and Norfolk, England.

The scope of this Procurement includes the provision of two HVDC cable poles (underground and submarine cable) utilising 525kV extruded cable systems. L. Proposed cable systems (cables and accessories, including factory joints and transition joints) shall be type tested in accordance with Cigre Electra 189 and 171 before the award of the contract.

With option of DCSS there would be the requirement for a three cable solution between the DCSS and local convertor (circa 1km).

The cable shall be capable of delivering 2GW.

The Employers reserve the right to take up to a maximum of four Suppliers through the prequalification process and into the tender process.

Applicants are advised that, for the purpose of the contracts, the Employers may potentially enter into joint venture arrangements prior to awarding any contract from this activity. If this approach were to be adopted and, depending on the nature of the joint venture arrangements, the successful applicant(s) may be required to enter into a contract with a new JV entity relating to the execution of the works and services being procured.

The Employers are considering the potential to award early works.

Delivery: UK · UK
Variant bids: not allowed

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
Conditions of participation1
  • Suitability

    As described in the procurement documents

Legal form for consortia
Where there is a group of economic operators, joint venture or consortium each economic operator, joint venture partner or consortium member must be jointly and severally liable for the whole of the performance of the obligations under any contract to which it is a party.
Staff
Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted
Shortlisting
As described in the procurement documents

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record · publisher note attached
Procedure method
Negotiated procedure with prior call for competition
Legal basis
CELEX · 32014L0025 Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (Directive 2014/25/EU)
Procurement category
Works
Notice status
Closed
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
12 Dec 2023, 17:01 GMT
Last source update
12 Dec 2023, 17:01 GMT
Authority reference
WS 4346053431
FTS notice number
2023/S 000-036577
Classification (CPV)
Construction workConstruction work for electricity power linesElectricity distribution and control apparatusHigh-voltage cableInstallation of cable layingSubmarine cable
Delivery area
UK
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-042513 Find a Tender
Contract terms summary

Eastern Green Link 3 (EGL3) Scotland to England Green Link (SEGL) 3 is subject to regulation under the Ofgem RIIO-T2

Large Onshore Transmission Investment regime and therefore the project costs and payment provisions may be subject to regulatory oversight.

Contract terms
Performance terms

Contracts will be structured on a supply and install basis and will be subject to the laws of England & Wales. They will contain performance guarantees.

It is anticipated that the contract for the Works will be awarded by early 2025. The Works will require to be delivered in time to allow the final EGL3 asset to be in service by the date set by Ofgem. As at the date of this notice, Ofgem’s requirement for the EGL3 asset to be in-service is anticipated to be Q4 2030.

These dates are indicative. Any available update to these dates and/or further information will be provided in the ITT.

Publisher note: Applicants are advised that, for the purpose of the contracts, the Employers may potentially enter into joint venture arrangements prior to awarding any contract from this activity. If this approach were to be adopted and, depending on the nature of the joint venture arrangements, the successful applicant(s) may be required to enter into a contract with a new JV entity relating to the execution of the works and services being procured. The Employers reserve the right to withdraw this notice at any time for whatever reason. Applicants shall be fully responsible for the costs of responding to this procurement at all stages of the procurement and in no circumstances do the Employers accept any liability for any costs incurred by any Applicants, howsoever or whensoever incurred.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: SAP Ariba · Who buys & how to bid on SAP Ariba
Supplier login requiredLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free buyer-specific invitations

Tender documents are also served through a separate tool: http://www.ariba.com ↗

Submission deadline
22 Jan 2024, 17:00 GMT
Submission channel
{"electronicSubmission","written"}
Accepted languages
en
Participation fee
document
Bid validity
480 days from the deadline
Deposits and guarantees

The following contractual security may be required from the Applicants:

Parent company guarantees from the ultimate parent company or equivalent third party security

Performance and warranty bonds

Collateral warranties in favour of the Employers from all key subcontractors (to be

determined by the Employers)

Advance payment bonds if the Employers agree to an advance payment in each case as more fully described in the procurement documents

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

12 Dec 2023 → 1 Apr 2024 · 3 dates
  1. Notice published
    12 Dec 2023, 17:01 GMT
  2. Submission deadline
    22 Jan 2024, 17:00 GMT
  3. Invitations to tender expected
    1 Apr 2024, 00:00 BST

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

2 public bodies on the notice

National Grid Electricity Transmission PLC

Contracting authorityPublic bodyElectricity 04508773 1-3 Strand, London, UK, WC2N 5EHContact name, email, phone Published organisation website ↗

Consortium members and other public bodies

Dispute resolution & review bodies

  • High Court of JusticeReview body LondonContact phone

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Economic and financial selection criteriatenderEconomic and financial selection criteria
  • Technical selection criteriatenderTechnical selection criteria