Official UK procurement notice
Provision of High Volume Call Handling (HVCH)
Authority: Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited (Public body)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionHVCH is an integral part of NIE Networks’ fault and emergency response processes and systems. It plays a fundamental role in call handling operations, both during normal call volumes and periods of high demand. The HVCH hosted system provides 100% speech recognition, enabling customers to be identified by postcode and house number when their telephone number is not matched within the NIE Networks’ database. Using HVCH ensures callers reporting a fault never receive an engaged tone, as the call is either handled by a Customer Service Agent (CSA), or the automated HVCH system. Additionally, HVCH provides customers with the option to report a fault online.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedProcedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Direct award
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 19 Sept 2025, 08:56 BST
- Last source update
- 22 Sept 2025, 15:41 BST
- Authority reference
B872- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-058608- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-059dc2Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
- Urgency
- Published justification
The justification for this STA is reliance upon Clause 41 “Direct Award in Special Cases” of the Procurement Act 2023, Schedule 5. Where the goods to be supplied are strictly necessary for reasons of extreme and unavoidable urgency, and as a result the contract cannot be awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure. The urgency is unavoidable as it is not attributable to any act or omission of NIE Networks and could not have been foreseen by NIE Networks.
Notice history
4 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 19 Sept 2025- Transparency notice published19 Sept 2025, 08:56 BSTUK5
- Transparency notice published19 Sept 2025, 09:22 BSTUK5
- Contract award notice published22 Sept 2025, 15:41 BSTUK6
- Contract signature expected1 Dec 2025, 23:59 GMTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eckoh UK Limited1 Dec 2025 – 30 Nov 2027 | £363,000 | 19 Sept 2025 | Awarded |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Eckoh UK LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender
- Transparency notice Transparency notice on Find a Tender