Official UK procurement notice
Replacement of Circuit Switch Data (CSD) Modems and related Telemetry Equipment (for use with Technolog Cello-MO Telemetry Systems)
Authority: Wales & West Utilities Limited
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionWales and West Utilities Ltd (WWU) operate a UK Gas distribution network, this is a notice to award a contract for provision CSD hardware within the Technolog Cello-MO Telemetry.
Pressure control is critical to reduce excessive pressure and leakage in the network ensuring safety and environmental risks are limited. Self-learning low pressure management and profiling is a key contributor to lowering gas emissions.
Ofcom have approved BT Openreach to remove wholesale line rental (PSTN Copper lines) in the UK by 2025 upon which the current gas control system relies and as such an alternative solution is required.
We require a self-learning, forecast and profiling solution with control equipment and supporting communications solution capable of varying the outlet pressure of the governor to suit network demand; pressures must follow a self-learnt profile to be raised at periods of high demand and decreased at periods of low demand automatically within safe limits
CPV: For the gas industry · Telemetry and control equipment
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Telemetry
Telemetry
The currently deployed low pressure gas control platform is unique to a single provider's proprietary solution; The current provider is Technolog Ltd and their forecast and profiling solution is in use by all UK Gas Distribution networks. We believe that there are no alternative telemetry systems in the market with the capability to operate without mains power, without copper phone lines and with the ability to execute automatic control actions of a gas governor autonomously within fail safe limits.
Communications
The Technolog Ltd. telemetry solution relies upon mobile digital communications. The digital communications used must have 4G NBIOT / CATM - IP or 5G NBIOT / CATM - IP available in time to meet the commencement of the roll out in Q1 2024, to meet the March 2025 completion deadline of the project.
The solution must be deployed in its entirety across 431 sites to ensure continued operation of the gas network. The target completion date is the end of December 2024
A telemetry solution, if offered, must -
- Provide a self-learning, forecast and profiling solution with control equipment capable of varying the outlet pressure of the in situ Technolog Ltd. Gas governors to suit network demand; pressures must follow a self-learnt profile to be raised at periods of high demand and decreased at periods of low demand automatically within safe limits.
- Enable data from District Governors to feed into the profiling solution over a reliable communications solution without the use of copper phone lines PSTN or CSD mobile communications.
- Enable logger data at low point extremities to feed into the profiling solution over a reliable communications solution without the use of copper phone lines or CSD mobile communications.
If a communications solution is offered, it must meet the following requirements -
- If a solution for both Telemetry and communications is offered -
a. The communications must work with the telemetry hardware proposed above
b. The communications must work without a PSTN line
c. The communication system must work without a mains power supply
d. The solution must include provision of a service for managing any failures within an agreed SLA for a Critical Network Infrastructure platform.
- If a communication solution only is offered -
a. The communications must work with Technolog telemetry hardware - Rugged Modem Operations (RMO), Newlog 4DR and Gas Station 4 (GS4).
b. The communications must work without a PSTN line
c. The communication system must work without a mains power supply
d. If Mobile Digital communications is proposed
i. The solution must include provision of SIM cards
ii. The solution must include provision of Airtime
iii. The solution must include provision of a service for managing communication failures within an agreed SLA for a Critical Network Infrastructure platform.
iv. It must have 2/4G NBIOT / CATM - IP in time to meet the commencement of the roll out in Q1 / Q2 2024 to meet the March 2025 completion deadline of the project.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Negotiated without publication of a contract notice
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0025 Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 (Directive 2014/25/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 13 Dec 2023, 12:20 GMT
- Last source update
- 13 Dec 2023, 12:20 GMT
- Authority reference
WWU1358- FTS notice number
2023/S 000-036637- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04253aFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons
- Published justification
The currently deployed low pressure gas control platform is unique to a single provider's proprietary solution; The current provider is Technolog Ltd and their forecast and profiling solution is in use by all UK Gas Distribution networks. We believe that there are no alternative systems in the market with the capability to operate without mains power, without copper phone lines and with the ability to execute automatic control actions of a gas governor autonomously within fail safe limits.
The solution must be deployed in its entirety by end of March 2025 to ensure continued operation of the gas network.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast1 further award records carry no date or value.
Contracts
Contract 036637-2023-1 · supplier not published
- Signed
- 12 Dec 2023
- Value
- —
- Status
- active
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.