---
title: "Sunderland Central Heat Network"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-044acd"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-044acd"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-044acd.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-044acd.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "SUNDERLAND CITY COUNCIL"
published: "2026-01-12"
---

# Sunderland Central Heat Network

Buyer: SUNDERLAND CITY COUNCIL  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-044acd

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## Summary

Sunderland City Council is the buying organisation for the Sunderland Central Heat Network project, which involves the delivery of a large-scale heat network in Sunderland City Centre. With an estimated value of £130 million, the project falls within the Public Utilities industry category under CPV 65000000 and is classified under services. The procurement method used was selective, employing a competitive dialogue process. Initially planned, the procurement process has now progressed through various stages, with the award phase being completed as of December 2025 and a contract signed with 1Energy Group Limited. The scheme aims to provide low carbon heat to municipal, commercial, and residential customers, including South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, University of Sunderland, and Gentoo Group Limited. The duration of the project is set for 40 years, reflecting the council's long-term investment expectations.

This procurement offers significant growth opportunities for businesses in the district heating and construction sectors, as well as those specialising in energy solutions. Companies with strengths in technical engineering, civil, mechanical, and electrical contracting, as well as those capable of supplying innovative energy solutions through heat networks, may find this project particularly suitable. The project supports the local economy through potential subcontracting opportunities during various project phases, including commercialisation and construction. Businesses adept at managing complex, large-scale infrastructure projects and capable of fulfilling Sunderland City Council's sustainability and carbon reduction targets will find this an attractive opportunity.

## Notice

Sunderland City Council (the "Council") is seeking interest and proposals from suitable economic operators to take forward the delivery of a large-scale heat network in the Sunderland City Centre area to serve a number of municipal, commercial and residential customers through an innovative contractual structure. Following completion of the procurement process, the Council will enter into a joint development agreement ("JDA") with the selected bidder ("ESCO") under which the Council and the ESCO will work in partnership throughout the commercialisation phase of the project. On completion of the commercialisation phase and a final investment decision having been approved by both parties, the project will move to the delivery stage and the Council proposes to enter into the "Delivery Contracts" for the project including:- - the project governance agreement ("PGA"), which shall govern the rights and relationship between the Council and the ESCO in delivering the project; - the connection and supply agreements for the anchor load properties (see below); and - any other relevant legal documents agreed during the commercialisation phase. This procurement includes the opportunity to provide heat to the initial anchor load customers which includes South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, University of Sunderland, Gentoo, the Council, and other un-named Public Sector Contracting Authorities within the administrative boundary of The City of Sunderland.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Sunderland City Council (the "Council") is seeking interest and proposals from suitable economic operators to take forward the delivery of a large-scale heat network in the Sunderland City Centre area to serve a number of municipal, commercial and residential customers (the "Project") through an innovative contractual structure. Following completion of the procurement process, the Council will enter into a joint development agreement ("JDA") with the selected bidder ("ESCO") under which the ESCO will be provided with a 12 month exclusivity period to work with the Council in partnership to carry out the commercialisation of the project. The JDA will govern the terms upon which the Council and the ESCO will work together to (amongst other things): (a) finalise the connection and supply agreements for the anchor load customers and any other legal documents required for the delivery stage; (b) develop the reference design for the first phase of the network into a construction-ready design; (c) secure the necessary consents and land rights required to deliver the Project; (d) develop the financial model for the Project; (e) arrange the finance for the core scheme; (f) procure the supply chain; and (g) incorporate a special purpose vehicle ("SPV") to act as the Project delivery vehicle. On completion of the commercialisation phase and a final investment decision having been approved by both parties, the project will move to the delivery stage and the Council proposes to enter into the "Delivery Contracts" for the project including:- - the project governance agreement ("PGA"), which shall govern the rights and relationship between the Council and the ESCO in delivering the Project (see below); - the connection and supply agreements for the anchor load properties (see below); and - any other relevant legal documents agreed during the commercialisation phase. This procurement includes the opportunity to provide heat to the initial anchor load customers which includes:- - South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust in relation to Sunderland Royal Hospital and, potentially, a number of other buildings owned and occupied by the Trust; - University of Sunderland in relation to a number of buildings on the University's City Campus; - Gentoo Group Limited in relation to a number of social housing blocks in the City; - the Council in relation to Sunderland City Hall; and - other un-named Public Sector Contracting Authorities within the administrative boundary of The City of Sunderland, with the intention for further expansion of the network in the future. The forms of connection and supply agreements with each anchor load customer will be agreed between the ESCO and anchor load customers during the commercialisation phase based on the principles document provided as part of this procurement. The Council and the ESCO will also agree the terms of the ("PGA") during the commercialisation phase based on the principles document provided as part of this procurement. The PGA is intended to be a perpetual arrangement with the ESCO taking ownership and full risk in relation to the network. The PGA will include obligations on the ESCO in relation to the delivery of the works, customer service standards, transparent pricing which does not exceed a counterfactual, carbon reduction/growth targets and reporting requirements. Potential bidders should note that the Council (and the other named public-sector anchor load customers set out above) intend to enter into the relevant Delivery Contracts with the ESCO following completion of the commercialisation phase under the JDA without a separate procurement being undertaken. However, if a final investment decision is not achieved in accordance with the JDA the Council reserves the right to conduct a new procurement process for another ESCO for the Project and enter into the Delivery Contracts with the successful bidder in that procurement process. Further detail on the background and structure of the Project is set out in the procurement documents.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002211-2026 |
| Notice type | Planning Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive dialogue |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Planning, Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 12 Jan 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 21 May 2024 |
| Future notice date | 9 Apr 2024 |
| Award date | 4 Dec 2025 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £130,000,000 |
| Lots value | £130,000,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £130,000,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | SUNDERLAND CITY COUNCIL |
| Additional buyers | THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNDERLAND |
| Locality | SUNDERLAND |
| Post town | Sunderland |
| Postcode | SR1 3AD |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC4 Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear |
| ITL 3 | TLC44 Sunderland |
| Local authority | Sunderland |
| Electoral ward | Millfield |
| Westminster constituency | Sunderland Central |
| Delivery location | TLC23 Sunderland |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | 1ENERGY GROUP |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 09 - Petroleum products, fuel, electricity and other sources of energy
- 45 - Construction work
- 65 - Public utilities

### Codes

- 09323000 - District heating
- 45000000 - Construction work
- 65000000 - Public utilities

## Release History

- 12 Jan 2026 at 11:45 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/002211-2026
- 16 Apr 2024 at 12:01 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/012340-2024
- 26 Mar 2024 at 14:33 - TenderUpdate - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009828-2024
- 21 Mar 2024 at 10:53 - TenderUpdate - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009150-2024
- 20 Mar 2024 at 13:16 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009011-2024

## Notice URLs

- http://www.sunderland.gov.uk/
- https://1energy.uk/
- https://procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/View?advertId=44d7c275-e3cf-ee11-8127-005056b64545&fromAdvertEvent=True
- https://procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/View?advertId=44d7c275-e3cfee11-
- https://www.nepo.org/

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-044acd. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-044acd.json.