Planning

C345 (2027) Supply of non-SF6 33kV Switchboards

NORTHERN IRELAND ELECTRICITY NETWORKS LIMITED

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

06 Feb 2026 at 15:16

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited (NIE Networks), located in Belfast, is initiating a public procurement process for the supply of non-SF6 33kV switchboards under the framework agreement C345 (2027). This process is currently in the planning stage with a preliminary market engagement (PME) event scheduled to assess market interest and capabilities. Key dates to note include the cut-off for expressing interest in the PME event by 19 February 2026, and the PME meetings are anticipated to occur on 23 February and 25 February 2026. The potential framework agreement aims to cover a period of up to eight years, expected to commence on 1 May 2027, with an estimated total spend of £15 million. The procurement process follows Northern Irish devolved regulations, falling under the utilities sector, specifically within the goods category for medium-voltage switchboards.

This tender presents significant business opportunities for suppliers within the medium-voltage electrical equipment industry, particularly those capable of providing innovative non-SF6 solutions. Businesses specialising in medium-voltage switchboards, with the capability to meet NIE Networks' requirements and engage in a lengthy framework, would be well-suited for this procurement. Participation in the PME supplier information event allows potential suppliers to influence the procurement strategy and showcase their capabilities. Given the substantial contract value and long-term engagement, this tender can catalyse growth for businesses that secure a position within the framework. Suppliers are encouraged to register with Achilles UVDB to ensure eligibility for future procurement stages.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

C345 (2027) Supply of non-SF6 33kV Switchboards

Notice Description

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited (NIE Networks) intends to establish a framework arrangement under which it shall appoint suppliers to enter into separate framework agreements for the C345 (2027) Supply of non-SF6 33kV Switchboards. It is anticipated that each framework agreement awarded will be for a period of five (5) years with an option, exercisable entirely at the discretion of the contracting authority and subject to the terms of the framework agreement, to extend by a further optional period of up to three (3) years, with a total potential duration of eight (8) years. NIE Networks estimates that the total spend under framework agreements could be up to PS15 million over the total potential eight-year duration. Therefore, NIE Networks is conducting a Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) supplier information event to gather insights from the market before initiating a procurement process for Contract C345 (2027) Supply of non-SF6 33kV Switchboards. This engagement aims to assess the market's interest and capabilities in delivering Contract C345 (2027), identify potential solutions and develop an effective procurement strategy. This PME supplier information event is open to suppliers and is intended to be a collaborative effort to ensure a robust and successful procurement process.

Planning Information

EXPRESSING AN INTEREST Interested parties should register their interest in this PME supplier information event via eSourcingNI (https://e-sourcingni.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.shtml). A Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) envelope has been created named “pqq_4715” within Project “project_29027” to supply suppliers with preliminary information and to express their interest in participating in the PME supplier information event. Please note that a draft specification will be available to suppliers defining NIE Networks’ requirements so that suppliers can understand these requirements in advance of expressing an interest in this PME supplier information event. Suppliers must express interest in participating in the PME supplier information event by applying to attend via the messaging function within the PQQ on eSourcingNI. As part of the application to participate in PME, suppliers must provide a short description of their experience of supplying products of the nature outlined in the draft specification. In your response you must provide the name(s) and contact email addresses of who will attend. Attendance shall be limited to a maximum of 4 attendees per organisation. Should the PME supplier information event be oversubscribed NIE Networks reserves the right to shortlist attendees based on direct relevant experience in this area. This PQQ will close at 3.00pm on 19 February 2026 and NIE Networks cannot accept applications to participate in the PME supplier information event after this time. Upon receipt of suppliers' expressions of interest, NIE Networks will provide additional information with further instructions on how to participate in the PME supplier information event. Interested parties will not be prejudiced by any response or failure to respond to this PME Notice or the PME supplier information event. Participation or non-participation in the PME supplier information event shall not prevent any interested parties from participating in any subsequent procurement process. SUPPLIER INFORMATION EVENT FORMAT It is anticipated that Preliminary Market Engagement meetings with interested suppliers will take place on 23 February and / or 25 February 2026 by MS Teams. This PME supplier information event shall consist of a presentation by NIE Networks with an opportunity for suppliers to engage and raise clarification questions. Interested parties should note that any questions regarding the content of the procurement process raised in advance of the PME supplier information event through eSourcingNI will not be responded to by NIE Networks. Please note that NIE Networks will be conducting this PME supplier information event in accordance with the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and transparency. To that end, it is important to stress that the structure, specification and all other aspects of the procurement will not be designed to give direct or indirect advantage to any interested party and all information concerning the forthcoming procurement will be disseminated to all interested parties. INFORMATION Any information from the PME supplier information event may be used to assist final procurement decisions and will be included within the final procurement documents which will be made available to all participating suppliers when the future procurement process is launched. Furthermore, NIE Networks also reserves the right to request additional information from any interested party in relation to any question raised or feedback provided as part of the PME supplier information event. The information provided in this PME Notice and as part of the PME supplier information event is preliminary in nature and is subject to amendment/updating by NIE Networks. For the avoidance of doubt however, NIE Networks will not disclose any specific comments or feedback provided by any interested party, nor the identity of any party that chose to take part in the PME supplier information event. No reliance may be placed by any party on the information contained in this PME Notice or provided as part of the PME supplier information event and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made in relation to such information. ANY FUTURE PROCUREMENT This PME Notice, and the PME supplier information event, do not constitute a call for competition, selection process or a current tender opportunity. This PME Notice has been produced solely for the purpose of conducting Preliminary Market Engagement. All interested parties will need to express a formal interest in any future tender opportunity in due course. Any future procurement for these requirements will be launched separately; currently this is anticipated to be in Spring / Summer 2026. Subject to any future procurement, NIE Networks intends to use Achilles UVDB to conduct the Pre-Qualification phase of the process. Depending upon the time of issue of any future procurement, NIE Networks will pre-qualify Suppliers using either Achilles UVDB Qualification System Notice (QSN) governed by the Utility Contract Regulations 2016 or Achilles UVDB Qualifying Utilities Dynamic Market (QUDM) subject to the Procurement Act 2023. Therefore, any interested parties will be required to be suitably registered with Achilles UVDB (www.achilles.com/uvdb/) to participate in the future procurement process. Suppliers are strongly advised to engage with Achilles UVDB directly and allow sufficient time for the registration process. Additionally, expressing an interest in this Preliminary Market Engagement will not necessarily be a pre-requisite in respect of the future tender competition. NIE Networks reserves the right to Direct Award in the absence of competition.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-064a5b
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/011057-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Framework
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

31 - Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting

CPV Codes

31214520 - Medium-voltage switchboards

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£15,000,000 £10M-£100M
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
6 Feb 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
29 May 20264 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
30 Apr 2027 - 30 Apr 2032 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NORTHERN IRELAND ELECTRICITY NETWORKS LIMITED
Contact Name
Ruadhrai O'Kane
Contact Email
ruadhrai.okane@nienetworks.co.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
BELFAST
Postcode
BT9 5HT
Post Town
Northern Ireland
Country
Northern Ireland
Major Region (ITL 1)
Not specified
Basic Region (ITL 2)
Not specified
Small Region (ITL 3)
Not specified
Delivery Location
TLN Northern Ireland
Local Authority
Electoral Ward
Westminster Constituency

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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