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HPE CNI Support & Professional Services

NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

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01 Oct 2026 at 12:03

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

National Energy System Operator Limited (NESO) procured support, maintenance and professional services for its existing Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) critical national infrastructure. The work covers four HPE environments: legacy infrastructure for core operations; hardware and platforms used for Balancing Mechanism activities; servers, storage and related infrastructure for the electricity system; and the HPE Nimble HF20 storage estate. Services include hardware maintenance, repairs and replacement, firmware and software support, incident response, technical assistance and other manufacturer support. Professional services are available for work associated with the supported estate and its transition, controlled through statements of work or change requests. The supported infrastructure and services are delivered in the United Kingdom.

The procurement is complete and HPE has been selected through a direct award, using the single-supplier technical-reasons route. The contract covers one lot. Its stated support requirement is approximately £1.166 million excluding VAT; the contractual ceiling, including in-scope professional services and changes, is £2,165,631.69 excluding VAT (£2,598,758.03 including VAT), and is not guaranteed spend. The contract period runs from 13 October 2026 to 31 December 2027. Further in-scope professional services are subject to approved statements of work or change requests, agreed rates, NESO approvals and purchase order controls. The award is based on HPE-specific technical capability, including original-equipment-manufacturer tooling, firmware, replacement parts, product lifecycle support and specialist knowledge; NESO concluded alternatives would bring disproportionate complexity, cost, delay and continuity risk.

This award shows demand for ongoing manufacturer support of NESO’s HPE critical infrastructure, including systems supporting core operations, balancing activities and electricity services. A credible supplier for a comparable requirement would need proven capability across the relevant HPE hardware, platforms and storage estate, with access to manufacturer support, firmware, replacement parts and lifecycle expertise. It would also need to deliver maintenance, break-fix replacement, incident response and technical assistance while maintaining continuity for critical infrastructure. Professional services must be manageable through defined work statements or change requests, with agreed commercial rates and customer approval and purchasing controls. The chosen supplier was HPE, the original equipment manufacturer; the buyer’s rationale states that resellers would depend on HPE for proprietary capabilities and would not provide an alternative technical support provider.}

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Notice Information

Notice Title

HPE CNI Support & Professional Services

Notice Description

National Energy System Operator Limited (NESO) intends to award an interim contract to Hewlett-Packard Limited (HPE) for the support and maintenance of existing HPE infrastructure supporting NESO's Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). The contract covers four existing HPE infrastructure environments: Legacy infrastructure supporting core CNI operations; the HPE hardware and platform estate underpinning Balancing Mechanism activities; HPE server, storage and associated infrastructure supporting the Electricity CNI environment; and the HPE Nimble HF20 storage estate. Services include, as applicable, hardware maintenance, break-fix and replacement, firmware and software support, Complete Care, mature/post-end-of-support-life support, incident response, technical assistance and associated OEM support services. The contract will also provide a controlled mechanism for in-scope HPE Professional Services associated with the supported estate and its transition. Professional Services will be subject to defined Statements of Work or Change Requests, agreed commercial rates, NESO approvals and purchase order controls. The currently identified support requirement is approximately PS1.166 million excluding VAT. The proposed maximum contract value is PS2.166 million excluding VAT (PS2.599 million including VAT), including capacity for controlled in-scope Professional Services and changes. The maximum value is a contractual ceiling and does not represent committed or guaranteed spend. The interim arrangement is intended to maintain continuity of support for the existing HPE CNI estate while NESO develops its longer-term technology and sourcing strategy.

Procurement Information

National Energy System Operator Limited (NESO) intends to rely on section 41 and Schedule 5, paragraph 6 of the Procurement Act 2023 (single supplier - technical reasons). The contract concerns support, maintenance and associated specialist services for NESO's existing Hewlett-Packard Limited (HPE) Critical National Infrastructure estate. The existing infrastructure comprises HPE hardware, storage and associated technology for which continued support requires HPE-specific technical capability, including OEM tooling, firmware, replacement parts, product lifecycle support and specialist technical knowledge. HPE is the original equipment manufacturer and the underlying technical provider for the relevant support services. Alternative routes have been considered, including use of a reseller. A reseller would remain dependent on HPE for the relevant proprietary OEM capabilities and would therefore add an additional contractual and commercial layer without providing an alternative technical support provider. Replacing HPE with an alternative technical solution during the existing estate lifecycle would require material changes to the supported infrastructure and could require redesign, migration or replacement activity, introducing disproportionate technical complexity, cost, delay and continuity risk to critical CNI services. NESO has therefore concluded that, for this interim requirement, there is an absence of competition for technical reasons and there are no reasonable alternatives capable of meeting the requirement without disproportionate technical difficulty and operational risk. The agreement is intended as an interim arrangement while NESO develops its longer-term technology, asset refresh and sourcing strategy.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-077e85
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092789-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK5 - Transparency Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

50 - Repair and maintenance services

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

50000000 - Repair and maintenance services

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£2,165,631 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
1 Oct 20265 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
13 Oct 2026 - 31 Dec 2027 1-2 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
WOKINGHAM
Postcode
RG41 5BN
Postcode Area
Reading
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ16 Berkshire West
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Wokingham
Electoral Ward
Winnersh
Westminster Constituency
Wokingham

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Hewlett Packard

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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