CONTRACT NOTICE – OFFICIAL JOURNAL

Section I: Contracting Authority

I.1)

Name, Address and Contact Point(s)

I.2)

Type of contracting Authority and Main Activity or Activities

Other (Please specify) the contracting authority is the Great Britain (‘GB’) Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (‘GEMA or the 'Authority’)

General public services Defence Public order and safety Environment Economic and financial affairs Health Housing and community amenities Social protection Recreation, culture and religion Education Other (Please specify) regulator (GB gas and electricity markets authority)

Section II: Object of the Contract

II.1)

Description

II.1.1)

Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority

II.1.2(a))

Type of works contract

II.1.2(b))

Type of supplies contract

II.1.2(c))

Type of service contract

II.1.2)

Main site or location of works, place of delivery or performance

Within GB territorial waters or the GB Renewable Energy Zone (as defined in the Renewable Energy Zone (Designation of Area) Order 2004 (SI 2004 No.2668). Projects/location is provided within section II.I.5 below. This project is subject to change.The following is currently identified as a qualifying project where we are tendering for the grant of an offshore transmission licence. Note that this is a qualifying project under regulation 8(6)(a) of The Electricity (Competitive Tenders for Offshore Transmission Licences) Regulations 2015 (the ‘Tender Regulations’).The location listed below is based on most proximate onshore points or on anticipated onshore connection points. Precise information will be made available in the tender documents.Project: Burbo Bank Extension;Developer: (DONG Energy).

II.1.3)

This notice involves

A public contract
The setting up of a Dynamic Purchasing System
The establishment of a framework agreement

II.1.4)

Information on framework agreement (if applicable)

Framework agreement with a single operators
Framework agreement with several operators

Number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged

Duration of the framework agreement

Justification for a framework agreement the duration of which exceeds four years

Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

Frequency and value of the contracts to be awarded

II.1.5)

Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

The type of procedure to be adopted is a competitive procedure with negotiation (please note that item ‘IV.1.1’ of this notice is a mandatory field and for the purpose of completing this notice we have selected ‘Negotiated’. However, the appropriate procedure that we are running this procurement process under is ‘Competitive Procedure with Negotiation’). The subject matter of this OJEU notice is the proposed grant of an offshore transmission licence to a successful bidder for the purpose of connecting a wind farm to the GB onshore grid. Great Britain continues to be a global leader in the development of offshore wind energy. Since 2009, we have run competitive tenders to select and licence Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTOs) to own and operate the assets that connect offshore wind farms to the onshore network. From the outset the offshore transmission regime has encouraged innovation and attracted new sources of technical expertise and finance, whilst ensuring that grid connections are delivered efficiently and effectively. In 2014 we published a study by CEPA/BDO who found that using tendering saved between 200 000 000 GBP and 400 000 000 GBP in our first tender round. We have also recently published a further study by CEPA which evaluated the benefits of competition delivered by tender rounds two and three. This has indicated further savings of between 428 000 000 GBP and 749 000 000 GBP.

Building on an already established regime for the awarding of offshore transmission licences in which approximately 2 900 000 000 GBP of assets have been tendered for over 14 projects, Ofgem is now running a further tender competition. TR4 consists of one project, identified in this notice as a Qualifying Project' in accordance with the Tender Regulations. A transmission licence is expected to be granted for this project. High level details about this project are as follows:

Project: Burbo Bank Extension;

Developer: Burbo Extension Limited

Capacity (MW): 258.

The successful bidder in this tender will enter into a transfer agreement for the purchase of offshore transmission assets constructed by the developer and then maintain and operate the assets in accordance with the offshore transmission licence and relevant industry codes, standards and agreements. In addition to being granted the offshore transmission licence, the successful bidder will be required to enter into a range of agreements including with the generator, any relevant distribution network owner and the National Electricity Transmission System Operator.

II.1.6)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

II.1.7)

Contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

II.1.8)

Division into lots

II.1.9)

Will variants be accepted

II.2)

Quantity or Scope of the Contract

II.2.1)

Total quantity or scope

II.2.2)

Options

Provisional timetable for recourse to these options

Number of possible renewals

In the case of renewable supplies or service contracts, estimated time frame for subsequent contracts

Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial and Technical Information

III.1)

Conditions Relating to the Contract

III.1.1)

Deposits and guarantees required

Further information will be set out in the tender documentation.

III.1.2)

Main Terms of financing and payment and/or reference to the relevant provisions

Further information will be set out in the tender documentation.

III.1.3)

Legal form to be taken by the grouping of suppliers, contractors or service providers to whom the contract is to be awarded

Further information will be set out in the tender documentation.

III.1.4)

Other particular conditions to which the performance of the contract is subject

Further information will be set out in the tender documentation.

III.2)

Conditions for Participation

III.2.1)

Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Bidders' Instructions — How to access the Enhanced Pre-Qualification (EPQ) Documentation:

The EPQ Document is published on the Ofgem website at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/transmission-networks/offshore-transmission/offshore-transmission-tenders/tender-round-4

To gain access to the full suite of EPQ documentation please follow these steps:

1. Register your organisation on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once)

— Browse to the eSourcing Portal https://ofgem.bravosolution.co.uk;

— Click the ‘Click here to register’ link;

— Accept the terms and conditions and click ‘continue’;

— Enter your correct business and user details;

— Note the username you chose and click ‘Save’ when complete;

— You will shortly receive an email with a temporary unique password. Please change this to something memorable to you and keep your log in details safe and secure.

2. Express interest in the EPQ

— Login to the portal with the username/password;

— Click the ‘PQs/QTTs Open to All Bidders’ link and select ‘Grant of offshore transmission licences — Tender Round 4’ to access the content;

— Click the ‘Express Interest’ button in the ‘Actions’ box on the left-hand side of the page;

— This will move the EPQ into your ‘My PQs/QTTs’ page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only).

3. Responding to the tender

— You can now choose to ‘Reply’ or ‘Decline to Respond’ (please give a reason if rejecting).

— You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with Ofgem and seek clarification.

— Note the deadline for submission of your EPQ bid and follow the onscreen instructions to upload your EPQ bid to the Portal.

— There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (further information will be set out in the tender documentation).

If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk: 0800 368 4850; help@bravosolution.co.uk.

III.2.2)

Economic and financial capacity

III.2.3)

Technical capacity

III.2.4)

Reserved contracts

The contract is restricted to sheltered workshops
The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes

III.3)

Conditions Specific to Service Contracts

III.3.1)

Is provision of the service reserved to a specific profession?

III.3.2)

Will legal entities be required to state the names and professional qualifications of the personnel responsible for the execution of the service?

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)

Type of Procedure

Open		Restricted
Accelerated restricted		Negotiated
Accelerated negotiated		Competitive dialogue

Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure

IV.1.1)

Have candidates already been selected?

IV.1.2)

Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates

Type of procedure: Competitive procedure with negotiation

Further information will be set out in the tender documentation.

IV.1.3)

Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated

IV.2)

Award Criteria

IV.2.2)

An electronic auction will be used

IV.3 Administrative Information

IV.3.1)

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

IV.3.2)

Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

Prior Information Notice
Notice on a Buyer Profile

Other previous publications

IV.3.3)

Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents

IV.3.4)

Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

IV.3.5)

Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

IV.3.6)

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

IV.3.7)

Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender 

IV.3.8)

Conditions for opening tenders

Section VI: Other Information

VI.1)

Indicate whether this procurement is a recurrent one and the Estimated timing for further notices to be published

VI.2)

Does the contract relate to a Project/Programme financed by Community Funds?

VI.3)

Additional Information

Interested parties can register on the portal at: https://ofgem.bravosolution.co.uk to access the tender documentation.

Please note that the confidential information relating to the Qualifying Project will only be available once relevant documentation has been returned and accepted by Ofgem. The earliest anticipated date these documents will be available is 11 April 2016 (further information will be set out in the tender documentation).

With reference to item IV.1.1 of this Notice; the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation is the type of procedure that will be followed for the grant of licence published under this notice. Please note, with respect to this procedure, the Authority reserves the right to grant the licence on the basis of the initial tender stage and without negotiation.

In publishing this notice the Authority has had regard to the Public Procurement Directives without necessarily accepting their relevance to the grant of licences in the envisaged circumstances. The publication of this notice does not constitute a voluntary acceptance of any obligation contained within the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concessions Contracts Regulations 2016, Directive 2014/24/EU, Directive 2014/25/EU and/or Directive 2014/26/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council. The award criteria will be set out in the tender documentation.

In publishing this notice the Authority has had regard to guidance provided in the Commission Interpretive Communication on the Community law applicable to contract awards not or not fully subject to the provisions of the Public Procurement Directives (2006/C 179/02) without necessarily accepting its relevance to the grant of licences in the envisaged circumstances. The publication of this notice does not constitute a voluntary acceptance of any obligation contained within the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006, Directive 2004/17/EC, and/or Directive 2004/18/EC. The award criteria will be set out in the tender documentation.

With reference to item IV.3.3 of this notice: there is no price to access the EPQ Document however, charges will be payable by bidders who are successful in reaching the later stages of the tender process. Further information will be set out in the tender documentation.

Further information in relation to the offshore transmission regime generally can be found at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk//electricity/transmission-networks/offshore-transmission. Copies of the Standard Framework documents can be found at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/transmission-networks/offshore-transmission/transmission-standard-framework.

The Tender Regulations 2015 can be found at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1555/pdfs/uksi_20151555_en.pdf. The Contracting Authority will use an eTendering system in this procurement.

The Authority shall not be responsible for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by bidders and accepts no liability for any costs, charges or expenses, irrespective of the outcome of the competition, or if the competition is cancelled or postponed.

VI.4)

Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)

Body responsible for appeal procedures

Body responsible for mediation procedures

VI.4.2)

Lodging of appeals
Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals:

VI.4.3)

Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)

Dispatch date of this Notice