Official UK procurement notice
Legal Services Framework · UK public procurement notice
Authority: NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED (Public body)
What is being bought2 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionNational Energy System Operator (NESO) is awarding a framework agreement under competitive flexible procedure across a full range of legal services to support NESO's requirements and activities.
Suppliers will partner with the internal NESO Legal team to provide high quality advice and support NESO to meet its objectives.
The framework agreement is split into 2 Lots and amounts to £30.5m (including VAT):
LOT 1 - Energy Regulation & Frameworks
Advising on all aspects of the United Kingdom (UK) and, where relevant, European Union (EU) regulatory regimes and frameworks for gas and electricity, including sector-specific European legislation and rules (where relevant) and Great Britain (GB) primary and secondary legislation that impacts on or are relevant to the business activities of NESO (licensed and unlicensed). This includes:
- Advising on the specific rules applicable to NESO, as well as on the regimes applicable to other sector participants including transmission networks, distribution networks, interconnectors, generators, storage and suppliers as are or may be relevant to NESO's activities.
- Advising on matters relating to the interaction of the UK and EU regulatory regimes with the gas and electricity arrangements, including relationships with European institutions such as ENTSO-E and ENTSOG.
- Advising on any innovation matters that arise as the gas and electricity markets and regulatory regimes develop.
- Advising on all matters relating to the compliance with the UK and EU regulatory regimes for electricity and gas and how they impact on all the activities of NESO in Great Britain, including the impact on contractual arrangements NESO has with third parties.
- Advising on the specific legal framework applicable to NESO as the designated independent system operator and planner under the Energy Act 2023 including:
5.1 Advising on the application of NESO's general statutory duties to its activities, including its duty to have regard to the Strategy and Policy Statement.
5.2 Advising NESO on the use of its power to request information.
5.3 Advising on NESO's independence requirements and requirements relating to conflict of interest.
- Advising on the sector specific commercial arrangements relevant to NESO's energy activities, as set out in further detail below.
More specific areas within Lot 1 are detailed below - no subcontracting is allowed cross Lot 1 disciplines:
1 Electricity/ gas codes
2 Electricity connections
3 Balancing services (electricity)
4 Electricity interconnectors
5 Electricity Market Reform
6 Network competition
7 Gas markets
8 Developing/adapting to new energy legal frameworks
9 Licence change, investigations and other regulatory issues
10 Public Investigation and inquiry processes
11 Planning and major infrastructure projects
12 Information management (energy)
13 Public Law (energy)
14 Competition law and dawn raids (energy)
15 Litigation (energy)
The requirements for advice and support set out in this Lot 1 relate to both non-contentious and contentious matters unless expressly stated otherwise.
LOT 2 - GENERAL SERVICES
This lot includes advising NESO on all corporate and commercial aspects of its operations to support its organisational functions, taking into account NESO's status as a public corporation.
More specific areas within Lot 1 are detailed below -subcontracting permitted only for specific Lot 2 disciplines (Trademark & Patent Services, Pensions, and Insurance):
1 General commercial and transactions
2 Public procurement
3 Technology expertise (including Cyber Security, AI, ICT & IoT)
4 Innovation
5 Commercial property/ construction
6 Corporate
7 Finance
8 Intellectual Property (including trademark and patent services)
9 Health, safety and environmental
10 Employment
11 Pensions
12 Insurance (including insurance claims)
13 Information Management (non-energy)
14 Public Law (non-energy)
15 Competition law & dawn raids (non-energy)
16 Litigation (non-energy)
The requirements for advice and support set out in this Lot 2 relate to both non-contentious and contentious matters unless expressly stated otherwise.
Individual workpackages will be awarded to suppliers based on the call-off mechanism detailed in the framework agreement.
- How the procedure runs: The Tender Process will consist of 3 stages: • Stage 1 (PSQ & ITT) - combined submission • Stage 2 (Negotiations/BAFO) - Optional - minimum of 6x Bidders per Lot • Stage 3 (Contract Award) - 3-5 Suppliers awarded per Lot Bidder Tender Responses MUST be submitted via SAP Ariba, as a combined (PSQ & ITT) submission. Following submission of Bidders' Tender Reponses, it will be at the Contracting Authority's discretion to launch Stage 2 of the Tender Process. If the Contracting Authority decides not to proceed with Stage 2, the Award Decision would follow the outcome of Stage 1 of the Tender Process. The PSQ evaluation is a pass / fail step of the Tender process, and Bidders must achieve a pass mark on all mandatory pass questions. If Bidders do not pass the PSQ, they will not progress to the next stage of the Tender Process and their ITT response will not be assessed in any form as part of the Tender Process. Further details on the Tender Process are described in the Tender Instructions. Responding to this notice: • Bidders wishing to participate in this Tender must respond via email to the advertised NESO email inbox listed in the Tender Notice. • Bidders should include in their email the attachment from the Tender Notice (completed NDA); please include the name and email address of the lead contact, and supporting team members, per Bidder for circulation of SAP Ariba portal details. • Upon receiving such email, the Contracting Authority will review completed NDAs and following compliance checks, issue Bidders with links to NESO's SAP Ariba portal, granting access to the full suite of Tender Documents.
CPV: Legal services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Type
- Closed framework
- Call-offs
- call-offs may be awarded directly or by further competition
- Places
- up to 10 suppliers · 12 bids on the busiest of 2 lots (1.2 per place) · 6 appointed
- Framework period
- 3 yrs · up to 5 yrs from 1 Feb 2026
Published description of the framework
NESO has the right to source Services through this agreement via:
- direct award of Services by following the process set out in clause 4.2; or
- conduct a mini competition for the Services in accordance with the process set out in clause 4.3
Direct award of Services will generally apply to Services where the total Charges are expected to be at the Direct Award Threshold (£215,000 excluding VAT). The Customer may, however, elect to follow the mini-competition process for any award of Services even when total Charges are expected to be below the Direct Award Threshold.
The Customer will conduct a mini competition for Services where the total Charges are expected to be in excess of the Direct Award Threshold (£215,000 excluding VAT), except where urgency makes this impractical in the Customer's reasonable opinion.
Each competitive allocation will have its own weighting between technical, commercial & social value (wherever applicable), which will be pre-determined by NESO prior to the launch of the competitive event.
- Lead Legal Services Provider for Project Echo · NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED · 31 Jul 2026
- Lead Provider for Strategic Energy Planning (SEP) · NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED · 21 May 2026
Notices that name this framework as their framework in the official record. Many call-offs are never published, so this is a floor, not utilisation.
Lots and requirements (2)Procurement structure
2 lots · all with a published value · evaluation weights differ by lotLot #1ENERGY REGULATION & FRAMEWORKSAwardedRenewal UK, North East +10Published value£16,500,000
LOT 1 - ENERGY REGULATION & FRAMEWORKS
1 Electricity/ gas codes
2 Electricity connections
3 Balancing services (electricity)
4 Electricity interconnectors
5 Electricity Market Reform
6 Network competition
7 Gas markets
8 Developing/adapting to new energy legal frameworks
9 Licence change, investigations and other regulatory issues
10 Public Investigation and inquiry processes
11 Planning and major infrastructure projects
12 Information management (energy)
13 Public Law (energy)
14 Competition law and dawn raids (energy)
15 Litigation (energy)
Lot #2General Legal ServicesAwardedRenewal UKPublished value£8,900,000
LOT 2 - GENERAL SERVICES
1 General commercial and transactions
2 Public procurement
3 Technology expertise (including Cyber Security, AI, ICT & IoT)
4 Innovation
5 Commercial property/ construction
6 Corporate
7 Finance
8 Intellectual Property (including trademark and patent services)
9 Health, safety and environmental
10 Employment
11 Pensions
12 Insurance (including insurance claims)
13 Information Management (non-energy)
14 Public Law (non-energy)
15 Competition law & dawn raids (non-energy)
16 Litigation (non-energy)
What it takes to wini
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 morei
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).
Lots publish different evaluation splits; there is no single procedure weighting.
| Lot | Quality | Price | Social value | Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · ENERGY REGULATION & FRAMEWORKS | 50% | 40% | 10% | |
| 2 · General Legal Services | 50% | 40% | 10% |
- Price carries 40 points on every lot: a 10% discount moves about 4 points.
- “Legal Services Framework” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, up to 10 suppliers, not a single contract: call-offs may be direct or by further competition.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use the vehicle
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 23 May 2025, 12:38 BST
- Last source update
- 25 Feb 2026, 16:20 GMT
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 16 Jan 2026
- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-061198- Latest notice
- Contract details notice (UK7)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-052237Find a Tender
- How it runs
The Tender Process will consist of 3 stages:
- Stage 1 (PSQ & ITT) - combined submission
- Stage 2 (Negotiations/BAFO) - Optional - minimum of 6x Bidders per Lot
- Stage 3 (Contract Award) - 3-5 Suppliers awarded per Lot
Bidder Tender Responses MUST be submitted via SAP Ariba, as a combined (PSQ & ITT) submission.
Following submission of Bidders' Tender Reponses, it will be at the Contracting Authority's discretion to launch Stage 2 of the Tender Process. If the Contracting Authority decides not to proceed with Stage 2, the Award Decision would follow the outcome of Stage 1 of the Tender Process.
The PSQ evaluation is a pass / fail step of the Tender process, and Bidders must achieve a pass mark on all mandatory pass questions. If Bidders do not pass the PSQ, they will not progress to the next stage of the Tender Process and their ITT response will not be assessed in any form as part of the Tender Process.
Further details on the Tender Process are described in the Tender Instructions.
Responding to this notice:
- Bidders wishing to participate in this Tender must respond via email to the advertised NESO email inbox listed in the Tender Notice.
- Bidders should include in their email the attachment from the Tender Notice (completed NDA); please include the name and email address of the lead contact, and supporting team members, per Bidder for circulation of SAP Ariba portal details.
- Upon receiving such email, the Contracting Authority will review completed NDAs and following compliance checks, issue Bidders with links to NESO's SAP Ariba portal, granting access to the full suite of Tender Documents.
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- 6 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 23 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
23 May 2025 → 25 Feb 2026 · 11 dates- Planning notice published23 May 2025, 12:38 BST
- Market engagement30 Jul 2025, 23:59 BST
Objectives of the Engagement
- Capture the expression of interest from legal service providers who may wish to participate in the upcoming procurement
- Obtain structured feedback on key aspects of the proposed procurement, including:
.Scope and lotting strategy
.Delivery models and ways of working
.Commercial models and procurement approach
Submitting your response would enable us to capture your expression of interest and help ensure the resulting framework is commercial viable, accessible and fit for purpose.
Response Instructions
All responses (including expression of interest) must be submitted via MS form link - forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx ↗ by 30th July 2025, 12:00PM (BST).
Completion of this form:
. Registers your expression of interest
. Provides an opportunity to offer feedback
Engagement Method
All supplier are requested to respond exclusively through the MS form.
For any queries or clarifications, please reach out to NESO Procurement team via [email protected]. Please note that we will not be providing any additional information on individual basis to ensure fairness and transparency.
Disclaimer
This is not a call for competition. Participation does not affect future tendering opportunities.
- Next notice expected1 Sept 2025, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published380 days ago1 Oct 2025, 10:43 BST
- Clarification questions by358 days ago23 Oct 2025, 23:59 BST
- Admission / appointment period ends344 days ago · period end, not a bid countdown6 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT
- Assessment summaries sent275 days ago15 Jan 2026
- Award decision expected by273 days ago16 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Standstill ends263 days ago26 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract starts258 days ago1 Feb 2026
- Latest notice published233 days ago25 Feb 2026, 16:20 GMT
Notice history
12 events · 5 releases on Find a Tender · since 23 May 2025- Pipeline notice published23 May 2025, 12:38 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published16 Jul 2025, 18:38 BSTUK2
- Published value updated to £23,500,00016 Jul 2025, 18:38 BSTwas £27,537,133
- Tender notice published1 Oct 2025, 10:43 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £25,400,0001 Oct 2025, 10:43 BSTwas £23,500,000
- Status changed to active1 Oct 2025, 10:43 BST
- Procurement method changed1 Oct 2025, 10:43 BST
- Deadline published: 6 Nov 2025, 12:00 GMT1 Oct 2025, 10:43 BST
- Contract award notice published15 Jan 2026, 19:04 GMTUK6
- Status changed to complete15 Jan 2026, 19:04 GMT
- Contract signature expected31 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMTscheduled
- Contract details notice published25 Feb 2026, 16:20 GMTUK7
Routine re-releases (5)
- 2025-07: 1 release · 16 Jul 2025
- 2025-05: 1 release · 23 May 2025
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lot 1 · ENERGY REGULATION & FRAMEWORKS1 award | |||
| Addleshaw Goddard LLP, DLA Piper, Dentons UK & Middle East LLP, Gowling WLG (UK) LLP, Shakespeare Martineau LLP31 Jan 2026 – 31 Jan 2029 · up to 31 Jan 2031Extensions: NESO may, by giving the Supplier not less than one months' written notice prior to expiry of the Initial Term, extend this agreement in respect of the whole (or part) of the Services, for a period of up to two years, in one year increments, from the day following expiry of the Initial Term | £16,500,000 | 15 Jan 2026 | Awarded |
| Lot 2 · General Legal Services1 award | |||
| Addleshaw Goddard LLP, DLA Piper, Dentons UK & Middle East LLP, TLT LLP31 Jan 2026 – 31 Jan 2029 · up to 31 Jan 2031Extensions: NESO may, by giving the Supplier not less than one months' written notice prior to expiry of the Initial Term, extend this agreement in respect of the whole (or part) of the Services, for a period of up to two years, in one year increments, from the day following expiry of the Initial Term | £8,900,000 | 15 Jan 2026 | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 1 · Addleshaw Goddard LLP, DLA Piper, Dentons UK & Middle East LLP, Gowling WLG (UK) LLP, Shakespeare Martineau LLP
- Signed
- 30 Jan 2026
- Value
- £16,500,000
- Period
- 30 Jan 2026 – 30 Jan 2029 · up to 30 Jan 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- NESO may, by giving the Supplier not less than one months' written notice prior to expiry of the Initial Term, extend this agreement in respect of the whole (or part) of the Services, for a period of up to two years, in one year increments, from the day following expiry of the Initial Term
- Options
- Any adjustment in the requirements will be subject to the Change Control Procedure.
Contract 2 · Addleshaw Goddard LLP, DLA Piper, Dentons UK & Middle East LLP, TLT LLP
- Signed
- 30 Jan 2026
- Value
- £8,900,000
- Period
- 30 Jan 2026 – 30 Jan 2029 · up to 30 Jan 2031 with extensions
- Status
- active
- Extensions
- NESO may, by giving the Supplier not less than one months' written notice prior to expiry of the Initial Term, extend this agreement in respect of the whole (or part) of the Services, for a period of up to two years, in one year increments, from the day following expiry of the Initial Term
- Options
- Any adjustment in the requirements will be subject to the Change Control Procedure.
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · ENERGY REGULATION & FRAMEWORKS | 11final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 · General Legal Services | 12final-stage tenders | 0 | 0 | — |
Who bid
- wonSHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU LLP · West Midlands · all lots
- wonGOWLING WLG (UK) LLP · Greater London · all lots
- wonDENTONS UK AND MIDDLE EAST LLP · Greater London · all lots
- wonADDLESHAW GODDARD LLP · Greater London · all lots
- wonDLA PIPER UK LLP · Greater London · all lots
- wonTLT LLP · South West England · all lots
- did not winWOMBLE BOND DICKINSON (UK) LLP · Greater London · all lots
- did not winHERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS KRAMER LLP · Greater London · all lots
- did not winHOGAN LOVELLS INTERNATIONAL LLP · Greater London · 1
- did not winNORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT LLP · Greater London · 1
- did not winBRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER LLP · Greater London · all lots
- did not winBRODIES LLP · Scotland · 2
- did not winBIRD & BIRD LLP · Greater London · 2
- did not winDWF LLP · North West England · 2
Bidders as named on the Procurement Act 2023 award notice. “Won” means the bidder holds an award on this notice.
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Framework contractors & participating bidders
14 commercial parties on the notice · 6 awarded- ADDLESHAW GODDARD LLPFramework contractor
- BIRD & BIRD LLPBidder / tenderer
- BRODIES LLPBidder / tenderer
- BRYAN CAVE LEIGHTON PAISNER LLPBidder / tenderer
- DENTONS UK AND MIDDLE EAST LLPFramework contractor
- DLA PIPER UK LLPFramework contractor
- DWF LLPBidder / tenderer
- GOWLING WLG (UK) LLPFramework contractor
- HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS KRAMER LLPBidder / tenderer
- HOGAN LOVELLS INTERNATIONAL LLPBidder / tenderer
Show 4 more suppliers
- NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT LLPBidder / tenderer
- SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU LLPFramework contractor
- TLT LLPFramework contractor
- WOMBLE BOND DICKINSON (UK) LLPBidder / tenderer
Official documents & specifications (11)
Official links; attachments are not copiedTender pack and attachments
- Bidding documents and specifications Please complete NDA and provide it back when responding to this notice. Please also provide your SAP Ariba number (AN ID) when responding to this notice. Please include the name and email address of the lead contact, and supporting team members, per Bidder for circulation of SAP …
- Signed contract
- Bidding documents and specificationsAccess: Bidders will be granted access to the full suite of Tender Documents on SAP Ariba following review of completed Bidder NDAs by the Contracting Authority.
- Signed contract
Notices published for this procedure
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract details notice Contract details notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender