II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79342400
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UK
Main site or place of performance:
United Kingdom.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The purpose of this contract notice is to:
(i) Inform the market of an Invitation to Tender in connection with the procurement of an auction platform and related services by the UK government for the auctioning of greenhouse gas emissions allowances from late 2017 as part of continued implementation of Phase III of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS); and
(ii) Provide potential bidders with the details for requesting a copy of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) documents and information on how to obtain further information about the procurement requirements.
Further background on the EU ETS and auctions can be found at http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/emissions/eu_ets/phase_iii/phase_iii.aspx
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1031/2010 of 12.11.2010 on the timing, administration and other aspects of auctioning of greenhouse gas emission allowances (the ‘Auctioning Regulation’) sets out the regulatory framework for auctioning general allowances (EUAs) for phase III of the EU ETS (2013-2020) and for aviation (EUAAs).
Pursuant to Article 30(1) of the Regulation, the UK has opted to retain its own national auction platform to auction its share of allowances upon expiry of the contract with the national auction platform current supplier in November 2017.
The auction platform will provide the services including:
a) Auctioning of allowances for the UK pursuant to Article 31(1) (which in turn refers to the obligations in article 27) of the Auctioning Regulation;
b) Assisting in the development of the UK auction calendars.
The UK currently auctions approximately 10 % of the EUA allowances available for auction. In 2016, this will amount to approximately 84 000 000 EUA allowances (approximately 3 500 000 allowances per auction). In addition, the UK will hold 1 aviation auction of 921 000 EUAA allowances. The number of allowances to be auctioned is determined annually with the European Commission and the supplier will be engaged in publishing the annual auction calendar.
The contract will cover auctions held for a period of 36 months from the date of appointment as outlined in the Auctioning Regulation (i.e. 10.11.2017), unless terminated or extended by the Department in accordance with the terms of the contract. The contract may be extended for up to a further 24 months, pursuant to Article 30(5) of the Auctioning Regulation. The contract with the tenderer will be conditional on receiving EU approval for the platform.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
II.2.7) Duration of the contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system
Duration in months: 60
This contract is subject to renewal: No
II.2.9) Information about the limits on the number of candidates to be invited
II.2.10) Information about variants
Variants will be accepted:
No
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
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 Auctioning Regulation also sets out the detailed requirements for the auctioning of aviation and phase III general allowances. Details of the provisions of particular importance are included in the ITT but the preferred supplier will be expected to follow the provisions set out in that Regulation as a whole and in particular should note that:
—The service of auctioning of allowances pursuant to Article 27 of the Auctioning Regulation will be paid through fees paid by the persons admitted to bid in the auctions and successful bidders in the auctions, pursuant to Articles 51 and 52 of the Auctioning Regulation.
—Tenderers should in particular take note of the following provisions of the Auctioning Regulation:
— Pursuant to Article 27(2) ‘(…) the auction platform shall be connected to at least 1 clearing system or settlement system’,
— Pursuant to Article 35(1) ‘Auctions shall only be conducted on an auction platform authorised as a regulated market whose operator organises a market in allowances or allowance derivatives’. In addition, Articles 35, 36, 43, 55 and 56 of the Auctioning Regulation provide further requirements on authorisation, notification, supervision and enforcement of the auctioning activity.
—The contractor will also be required, among other things, to demonstrate that the clearing system or settlement system connected to the platform is designated pursuant to the Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on settlement finality in payment and securities settlement systems.
Potential bidders should note however that a review of the Auctioning Regulation is due to take place during 2016 and the supplier will need to accommodate any changes to the Auctioning Regulation when these are agreed. Potential bidders should also note that:
— The auction platform must also be a regulated market pursuant to EU financial markets legislation and is governed also by such legislation. The supplier will also need to accommodate any forthcoming changes to the financial regulations such as the Market Abuse Directive and the Market in Financial Instruments Directive;
— From 2019, the Market Stability Reserve (MSR), a mechanism designed to manage the supply of EUA allowances entering the market through variable auctioning volumes, will become operational. This will also have an impact on the number of allowances available for auctioning and the auction calendars;
— If there is agreement from UK Ministers to extend the contract for a further 2 years, this would extend the contract into Phase IV of the EU ETS and the supplier may need to accommodate additional rule changes to meet the requirements of the revised EU ETS Directive.
Interested parties should, in the first instance, respond to this contract notice via the Delta portal to register their interest. A copy of the ITT document can be found on the Delta portal. Further information about the procurement or EU ETS auctioning can be obtained by writing to euetsauctionplatform@decc.gsi.gov.uk
The deadline for asking questions about the ITT is 17.6.2016. DECC's deadline for responding to the questions is 24.6.2016. Questions can be sent in writing to the email address above and all responses will be provided and published to all interested parties (in an anonymised form).
The deadline for tender responses is 15.7.2016 — 12:00 noon GMT and should be submitted through the Delta portal www.delta-esourcing.com Further detail on submission of the tender, including details of where to send a hard copy of your proposal, as well as a copy on a CD, can be found in the ITT.
Relevant governmental Internet sites where information can be obtained:
Auctioning Regulations: http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:302:0001:0041:EN:PDF
Further information on the EU emissions trading system can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/ets/index_en.htm