Contract award notice – utilities
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
SONI Ltd
12 Manse Road
Belfast
BT6 9RT
UK
Telephone: +44 2890794336
E-mail: tenders2@soni.ltd.uk
NUTS: UK
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.soni.ltd.uk
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.mytenders.co.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA43172
I.2) Joint procurement
The contract is awarded by a central purchasing body
I.6) Main activity
Electricity
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
SONI030
Reference number: Demerger Consultants (SONI Led)
II.1.2) Main CPV code
72221000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
Following a lengthy consultation period, the Utility Regulator in Northern Ireland issued a decision in August 2022 regarding SONI Governance matters. This decision became effective within the SONI TSO Licence from 26 October 2022.
The Licence Modification requires significant changes to the SONI Ltd Board composition and the relationship between EirGrid plc (as parent) and SONI Ltd (its subsidiary). They also require that the SONI TSO business be managerially and operationally separate from EirGrid and any other company within the EirGrid Group with separate premises, IT and other systems, equipment, facilities, processes and staff.
The Utility Regulator’s Licence Modification requirements for independence at Board, Management and Operational levels in the SONI business equates to a de-facto requirement to demerge the EirGrid and SONI businesses.
As a result, SONI is now seeking to appoint a consultancy business to design, manage and implement this demerger programme.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
2 000 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79400000
79411000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKN06
Main site or place of performance:
Belfast
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The Framework Agreement period will be for an initial duration of two years with the option to extend annually for up to an additional three years, subject always to the satisfactory performance of the supplier.
The demerger project will be run over two phases:
(i) the initial scope, design and cost of the demerger project
(ii) the implementation of the demerger project.
SONI offers a hybrid working model. Candidates resources would be expected to attend SONI’s office in Belfast for certain meetings and workshops as and when required.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: Project Team
/ Weighting: 35%
Quality criterion: Approach and Methodology
/ Weighting: 25%
Quality criterion: Contract Management
/ Weighting: 10%
Price
/ Weighting:
30%
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
As this is a framework, the need of the required services may increase or decrease over the term.
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
II.2.14) Additional information
The estimated value of 2 million sterling is inclusive of the entire duration
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated with call for competition
IV.1.3) Information about a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement with a single operator.
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2023/S 000-024769
Section V: Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
01/02/2024
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 2
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 0
Number of tenders received from tenderers from EU Member States: 2
Number of tenders received from tenderers from non-EU Member States: 0
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 2
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Ernst & Young
Bedford House, 16 Bedford Street, Belfast, BT2 7DT
Belfast
BT2 7DT
UK
NUTS: UKN06
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 2 000 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
1) Interested parties must register their interest on the mytenders web site (www.mytenders.co.uk) in order to be included on the mailing list for clarifications. All information relating to attachments, including clarifications and changes, will be published on the Portal (www.mytenders.co.uk) only. Registration is free of charge. The contracting authority will not accept responsibility for information relayed (or not relayed) via third parties.
2) This is the sole call for competition for this service.
3) The contracting authority will not be responsible for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by candidates or tenderers.
4) Contract award will be subject to the approval of the competent authorities.
5) If for any reason it is not possible to award the contract one or more of the tenderers invited following the conclusion of this competitive process, the contracting authority reserves the right to award the contract to the next ranked tenderer as appropriate.
6) At its absolute discretion, the contracting authority may elect to terminate this procurement process or any contract awarded.
7) Please note in relation to all documents, that where reference is made to a particular standard, make, source, process, trademark, type or patent, that this is not to be regarded as a de facto requirement. In all such cases it should be understood that such indications are to be treated strictly and solely for reference purposes only, to which the words ‘or equivalent’ will
always be appended.
8) Without prejudice to the principle of equal treatment, the contracting authority is not obliged to engage in a clarification process in respect of questionnaires with missing or incomplete information. Therefore, candidates are advised to ensure that they return fully completed questionnaires in order to avoid the risk of elimination from the competition.
NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please
visit the myTenders Web Site at
https://www.mytenders.co.uk
The buyer has indicated that it will accept electronic responses to this notice via the Postbox
facility. A user guide is available at https://www.mytenders.co.uk/sitehelp/help_guides.aspx
Suppliers are advised to allow adequate time for uploading documents and to dispatch the electronic response well in advance of the closing time to avoid any last minute problems
This process is now concluded and a contract has been awarded.
(MT Ref:231253)
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Public Procurement Review Service
Cabinet Office
London
UK
Telephone: +44 3450103503
E-mail: publicprocurementreview@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Internet address(es)
URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-procurement-review-service-scope-and-remit
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
06/02/2024