Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
THE ASSOCIATION OF NORTH EAST COUNCILS LIMITED
Northern Design Centre, Abbots Hill, Baltic Business Quarter
Gateshead
NE8 3DF
Contact
Marie Forster
Telephone
+44 1916380040
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UK - United Kingdom
Justification for not providing organisation identifier
Not on any register
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.2) Information about joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
one.3) Communication
Access to the procurement documents is restricted. Further information can be obtained at
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
NEPO311 Water Retail Services
Reference number
NEPO311
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 65100000 - Water distribution and related services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
The Association of North East Councils Trading as the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) Is seeking tenders for water retail services. At the time of submitting an SQ, and throughout the life of the Framework Agreement, tenderers must hold a valid Water Supply and Sewerage Licence with the appropriate retail authorisation, as issued by Ofwat. Also included within the scope of the Framework Agreement is the provision of Automatic Meter Reading and associated services and systems. The Framework Agreement will also include provisions for assisting in the reduction of consumption and supporting users efficiency schemes.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £120,000,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 65000000 - Public utilities
- 71800000 - Consulting services for water-supply and waste consultancy
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
NEPO are using a two-stage, restricted procedure for this Framework Agreement. The first is a Selection Questionnaire which will be used to shortlist organisations. It should be noted that one of the key mandatory criteria at Selection Questionnaire stage is for organisations to hold a relevant Water Supply and Sewerage Licences with the appropriate retail authorisation, as issued by Ofwat. The Selection Questionnaire document also contains an ITT overview that sets out the high-level requirements of the Framework Agreement. This document will allow organisations to determine if they are interested in this opportunity and consider whether they have the required capability and capacity to deliver the Framework Agreement prior to submitting a Selection Questionnaire.
The Framework Contract will be a sole supplier Framework Contract with one Lot. Those organisations shortlisted from the Selection Questionnaire and invited to tender will be evaluated in accordance with Award Criteria contained within the Invitation to Tender documents.
The opportunity can be accessed via the NEPO eTender system (Open). Suppliers wishing to be considered for this Framework Contract must register their expression of interest and submit the selection questionnaire and tender response through the Open eTendering System. If not already registered, suppliers should register on the Open eTendering System at https://www.open-uk.org/ Selection Questionnaire and Tender responses must be submitted using the link above.
Selection Questionnaire and Tender responses submitted via postal or email methods will not be accepted. If you need technical assistance from the Open Support team, this can be requested via open.support@nepo.org
PLEASE NOTE: Open is accessible 24/7 however, technical support is available Monday - Thursday 8:30 - 5pm and Friday 8.30 - 4.30pm For guidance on how to submit your response through Open, please visit https://www.openhub.org/training to access the available Training Guides.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months
48
This contract is subject to renewal
Yes
Description of renewals
It is anticipated that this Framework Contract will be renewed prior to its conclusion.
Framework Contract Period: 36 months supply contract commencing 1st April 2025, with the option to extend for a further 1 x 12 months.
two.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted: No
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
Section three. Legal, economic, financial and technical information
three.1) Conditions for participation
three.1.2) Economic and financial standing
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
three.1.3) Technical and professional ability
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Restricted procedure
four.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement
Framework agreement with a single operator
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2024/S 000-015569
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate
Date
23 October 2024
Local time
12:00pm
four.2.3) Estimated date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates
11 November 2024
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
Section six. Complementary information
six.1) Information about recurrence
This is a recurrent procurement: Yes
six.3) Additional information
NEPO is a Central Purchasing Body as defined in the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR15). This means that NEPO may provide central purchasing activity on behalf of Contracting Authorities. The agreement will be available for use by all NEPO Members within the North East region. A list of member organisations is available in the About section of the NEPO website at:
This agreement will also be made available to all current and future NEPO Associate Members. Current Associate Members are listed in the Associate Member section of the NEPO website at:
https://www.nepo.org/associate-members/list
NEPO intends to make the resulting agreement available for use by all Contracting Authorities (as defined by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) including but not limited to Government Departments and their Agencies, Non-Departmental Public Bodies, Central Government, NHS Bodies, Local Authorities, Emergency Services, Coastguard Emergency Services, Educational Establishments, Registered Social Landlords and Registered Charities who have a need to purchase the above services.
Please see the following websites for further details:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education
https://www.gov.uk/check-a-university-is-officially-recognised/recognised-bodies
http://www.schoolswebdirectory.co.uk/localauthorities.php
http://www.ukschoolsdirectory.net
https://www.gov.uk/find-school-in-england
http://apps.education-ni.gov.uk/appinstitutes/default.aspx
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-indevelopment
http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/institutions/
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/workprovide/unicoll/heis/
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/workprovide/unicoll/fecs/
http://www.nhs.uk/ServiceDirectories/Pages/AcuteTrustListing.aspx
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/A-ZOfCentralGovernment/index.htm
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations
https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/contact
http://www.police.uk/forces.htm
http://www.police-information.co.uk/index.html
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguard-agency
http://www.fireservice.co.uk/information/ukfrs
http://www.fire.org.uk/fire-brigades.html
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/current-registered-providers-of-socialhousing
http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/registerhomepage.aspx
A complete list of permissible users is shown on the NEPO website below:
https://www.nepo.org/associate-members/permissible-users
Organisations wishing to access the NEPO agreement will be required to register as a NEPO Associate Member in the first instance.
Further information can be found at:
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
NEPO
Northern Design Centre, Abbots Hill, Baltic Business Quarter
Gateshead
NE8 3DF
Country
United Kingdom