---
title: "HPE CNI Support & Professional Services"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-077e85"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-077e85"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077e85.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077e85.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED"
published: "2026-10-01"
---

# HPE CNI Support & Professional Services

Buyer: NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-077e85

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077e85.json)

## Summary

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.}

## Notice

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.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092789-2026 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 13 Oct 2026 - 31 Dec 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £2,165,631 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Pending |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM OPERATOR LIMITED |
| Locality | WOKINGHAM |
| Postcode area | Reading |
| Postcode | RG41 5BN |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ16 Berkshire West |
| Local authority | Wokingham |
| Electoral ward | Winnersh |
| Westminster constituency | Wokingham |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | Hewlett Packard |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

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

### Codes

- 50000000 - Repair and maintenance services
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

## Release History

- 1 Oct 2026 at 12:03 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092789-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/092789-2026
  1st October 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.hpe.com/uk/en/home.html
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-077e85. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-077e85.json.