Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC
1 - 3 Strand
LONDON
WC2N5EH
Contact
Tracey Walton
box.GP.UKBuyer@nationalgrid.com
Telephone
+44 7813357313
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKI - London
Companies House
02366977
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.3) Communication
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Other type
Electricity Transmission
one.5) Main activity
Other activity
Electricity Infrastructure
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Pre-procurement Early Market Engagement (EME) activity for the Tilbury-Kingsnorth, Tilbury-Grain (TKRE) 400kV uprating project (new tunnel & HV cable system).
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 45000000 - Construction work
two.1.3) Type of contract
Works
two.1.4) Short description
This notice is published to advertise a pre-procurement Early Market Engagement (EME) exercise being conducted by National Grid Electricity Transmission plc (NGET).
NGET is seeking feedback from the market through pre-procurement Early Market Engagement (EME) to support and refine its approach to a forthcoming procurement process in respect of the Tilbury-Kingsnorth, Tilbury-Grain uprating project (known as "TKRE").
Economic operators wishing to express an interest for the pre-procurement EME must request a pro-forma Market Engagement Document ("MED"). To obtain the MED please e-mail: box.GP.UKBuyer@nationalgrid.com to request the document. In your e-mail, please state "TKRE - Request for MED" as the subject line. The MED (with all sections completed) should be submitted via email, to box.GP.UKBuyer@nationalgrid.com no later than 13:00 (GMT) on Friday 21 April 2023. The completed MEDs will be used by NGET for pre-procurement EME planning purposes.
The market engagement exercise is open to all Economic Operators who are interested (or may be interested) in bidding for the EPC contractor role to deliver the works, directly contracted by NGET rather than as part of a sub-tier contracting arrangement.
Please note that invitations to (and information on) future related market engagement events or activities (such as group sessions and further questionnaires) may be provided only to those Economic Operators who have registered by responding to the MED. No further notice of those subsequent events or activities will be given to the wider market. You are therefore encouraged to respond to the MED to register your details and interest.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 31321300 - High-voltage cable
- 45200000 - Works for complete or part construction and civil engineering work
- 45315100 - Electrical engineering installation works
- 45315400 - High voltage installation work
- 45351000 - Mechanical engineering installation works
- 71320000 - Engineering design services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKI - London
Main site or place of performance
- Lower Thames Estuary
- Tilbury
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
NGET is the largest transmission licence holder within the UK, transmitting energy the length and breadth of England and Wales through 7,000 km of overhead line transmission networks, 2,800 km of underground cable and 350 substations to connect local distribution networks to the national grid. As such, NGET will be pivotal in delivering the UK's ambitious targets to promote energy security and the supply of cleaner, greener, energy sources to reach the homes and business of the UK.
NGET's forthcoming TKRE cable tunnelling project in London encompasses (without limitation):
- Design and build of a new tunnel for HV cables;
- Design, supply and installation of a 400kV cable system;
- Design and build of headhouses and associated M&E equipment; and
- Design and build of a cable sealing end compound.
The tunnel will be approximately 1.8km in length and located between Tilbury and Gravesend in the Lower Thames Estuary
Programme (approximate and subject to change):
Front End Engineering Design work has commenced and includes on and offshore ground investigation surveys
The FEED work is planned to be completed Autumn 2023
First Site Access for construction is summer 2024
Planned completion for construction is Autumn 2028
NGET wishes to undertake pre-procurement EME with the supply chain for the TKRE Project prior to the commencement of formal procurement procedures.
The EME will raise awareness of NGET's planned HV cable tunnel project and enable the market to informally express an interest in participating in the pre-procurement EME exercise and potential future procurement event. The contracting authority will use the EME to seek feedback from the supply chain to further validate the proposed procurement and delivery strategies for these works. National Grid is seeking to engage with economic operators from across the supply chain with relevant infrastructure project experience, that are typically involved in the design, manufacture, supply, installation, construction and commissioning of HV cable tunnel infrastructure projects of this nature.
As noted below, it is currently anticipated that following conclusion of the EME stage, NG will invite the suppliers registered on relevant UVDB codes to complete and return a pre-qualification questionnaire in or around May 2023. This date is indicative and may change (due to either acceleration or deceleration of the procurement programme). Please also note that NGET may elect not to launch a procurement process at all, and / or to deliver some or all of its requirements in some other way.
two.2.14) Additional information
II.3. Estimated date of publication of contract notice, a contract notice will not be published, we will use the applicable Achilles UVDB codes to issue a pre-qualification questionnaire in or around May 2023 to engage the market.
two.3) Estimated date of publication of contract notice
1 May 2023
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
The basis on which the market engagement exercise is carried out as follows:
NGET is requesting feedback and no final decision on the procurement and contracting strategy has yet been made. Whilst the views from the market sector are important, NGET may choose not to consider or implement any of the suggestions made through this process.
The market engagement exercise is not a formal request for expressions of interest. Participation or non-participation in the EME will not preclude, disadvantage or advantage any economic operator's ability to participate in any future procurement activity relating to the TKRE project in respect of any future competitive procurement process.
However, the results of the market engagement exercise (including written responses and any clarification questions or meetings) may be used to shape and refine the procurement and contract strategy before any formal competitive procurement process is launched.
As noted above, Economic operators wishing to express an interest for the pre-procurement EME must request, complete and submit the MED.
The current intention is for the market engagement to be staged. All economic operators who respond with an MED will receive a questionnaire and invitation to a WebEx for a general overview of the tunnelling project. Subsequently a workshop may follow to further inform the strategy.
National Grid will issue questionnaires and / or invitations to future potential EME events via e-mail, to the named contact(s) listed in the returned MED.
Respondents should note that information provided in response to the market engagement exercise may (at NGET's discretion) be disclosed by NGET to its directly appointed advisers and consultants (all of whom are subject to obligations of confidentiality as part of their appointment) and / or to Ofgem. The information provided in responses may also be disclosed, in a suitably summarised and anonymised form, to other stakeholders and to other interested persons. Notwithstanding that, where any response (or any part of it) is genuinely commercially sensitive, the respondent should make this clear, and NGET will not include that in any wider publication (beyond its directly appointed advisers and consultants and Ofgem).
NGET is not obliged to respond to any correspondence related to the market engagement exercise. Direct or indirect canvassing of NGET (or any person connected with it) by any person concerning the market engagement exercise, or any attempt to procure information outside of the defined process is discouraged and may (in certain circumstances) require the disqualification of the relevant person(s) from participation in any future competitive procurement process.
Any costs of participation in this market engagement exercise will be borne by the respondent.
All information provided by NGET during this market engagement exercise is at an early stage of development, is not intended by NGET to create any contract or other commitment and is not intended by NGET to be otherwise relied on by any person to any extent. NGET shall have no liability for any losses incurred by any person as a result of any such reliance.