Pre-procurement market engagement on delivery model for the New Infrastructure Delivery Onshore Programme (NIODP)

Description

This notice is published to advertise a pre-procurement market engagement exercise being conducted by National Grid Electricity Transmission plc (NGET). NGET is seeking feedback from the market to support and refine its approach to a forthcoming procurement process in respect of the NIODP. Further details are contained in this notice and in a market engagement document (MED). The MED has been prepared by NGET to describe the NIODP and NGET's current thinking on the delivery model, and contains questions to which NGET requests responses from the market. To access the MED please e-mail box.NImarketengagement@nationalgrid.com and a secure website link will be sent to you. In your e-mail, please state "Request for Access to MED" as the subject line and provide the following confirmation in the body of the e-mail: 1. Full name of nominated person to access the secured website 2. E-mail address of the nominated person This market engagement exercise is open to all persons who are interested (or may be interested) in bidding for a partner or member role in the enterprise delivery model (as described below), directly contracted by NGET, rather as part of a sub-tier contracting arrangement. The last date for submission of responses to the MED is 20 January 2023 at 16:00 (GMT). Depending on the information provided, NGET may seek to follow up with individual respondents or groups of respondents. 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 persons 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, even where you do not wish to respond to any specific question. Lot 1: 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. The NIODP is one of NGET's most challenging and complex yet, involving the development and construction of over 1,000km of new overhead line and underground transmission lines, alongside associated substation builds and extensions and customer connections onto the new and existing network. The scale of work required to unlock the energy transition is unprecedented both in terms of the volume of infrastructure and the condensed timeframe in which it needs to be delivered. To meet the 2030 ambition, the first step towards achieving Net Zero by 2050, over five times the amount of new electricity transmission infrastructure will need to be delivered in the next seven years than has been built in the past 30 years. At the same time, the global race to rapidly expand clean energy infrastructure, and respond to the current energy crisis, creates significant competition for supply chain resources and skills. The scale and complexity of the infrastructure required by the NIODP requires a review of NGET's current approach to engaging and contracting with the supply chain. NGET is developing a more collaborative delivery model, that incorporates relevant Project 13 principles, where NGET and supply chain experts will work together to influence solutions, increase efficiency and predictability to deliver the Government's desired outcomes. NGET's enterprise delivery model will be based upon the long term strategic alignment of five main roles: (1) NGET - the capable owner; (2) the integrator; (3) strategic partners; (4) enterprise members; and (5) the extended ecosystem. NGET has selected "No" at II.1.6 in this notice only because the details of the proposed Lots are not yet known and so cannot be completed at this time. The market engagement exercise is part of a larger range of activities to prepare for delivery of the NIODP and further detail about the anticipated formal launch of the competitive procurement process will be made available in due course. It is currently anticipated that a contract notice will be published by NGET in or around 13 February 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.