Official UK procurement notice
Contractor Partnership to support our secondary network underground cabling & overhead wood pole works
Authority: NATIONAL GRID UK LIMITED (Public body)
The contracting entity for this framework is National Grid UK Limited, but will be available for use by any of the Group subsidiary companies within the National Grid UK Limited Group. This includes, but is not limited to National Grid Electricity Transmission, National Grid Ventures, National Grid Electricity Distribution East Midlands, National Grid Electricity Distribution West Midlands, National Grid Electricity Distribution South West and National Grid Electricity Distribution South Wales. NGED is seeking engagement from suppliers with the capability and capacity to deliver these services across one or more regions, with the potential for the framework to be structured into regional lots. Associated customer service works, including service transfers, cut-out replacements and property connections where required.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe contracting entity for this framework is National Grid UK Limited, but will be available for use by any of the Group subsidiary companies within the National Grid UK Limited Group. This includes, but is not limited to National Grid Electricity Transmission, National Grid Ventures, National Grid Electricity Distribution East Midlands, National Grid Electricity Distribution West Midlands, National Grid Electricity Distribution South West and National Grid Electricity Distribution South Wales.
National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) is providing early market visibility of a forthcoming procurement opportunity and is seeking interest and feedback from suitably experienced contractors capable of delivering network construction works across its four licence areas.
The future framework, the Contractor Partnership to support our secondary network underground cabling & overhead wood pole works, is expected to encompass a broad range of electricity network construction and infrastructure activities, including:
Underground (UG) Construction works from LV up to 33kV.
Overhead Line (OHL) Wood Pole Construction works from LV up to 66kV.
NGED is seeking engagement from suppliers with the capability and capacity to deliver these services across one or more regions, with the potential for the framework to be structured into regional lots. Feedback received through this market engagement exercise will help inform the development of the procurement strategy, scope, and contracting model for the future framework arrangement.
- Overhead Wood Pole Line Construction
The framework will cover:
Construction, refurbishment, replacement and dismantling of LV, 11kV, 33kV and 66kV Overhead Line Wood Pole networks.
Installation, removal and replacement of associated plant, switchgear and supporting infrastructure.
Associated customer service works, including service transfers, cut-out replacements and property connections where required.
Highway-based works, including traffic management and, where specified, excavation and reinstatement activities.
Line patrols and pole inspections, including recording and reporting of inspection findings.
Network SAP/Switching activities when required.
Planned and emergency response services, including support during major weather events across all NGED licence areas.
Delivery partners will be expected to:
Work in accordance with NGED policies, standards and approved construction techniques.
Demonstrate competence, training and suitable procedures that align with NGED requirements.
Maintain the capability to safely deliver overhead line works from LV through to 66kV.
Support NGED's customer service obligations and operational performance requirements.
Provide appropriately trained and competent resources to undertake both planned and emergency works.
NGED is currently considering awarding these works on a regional basis.
- Underground Cabling Construction
Scope includes all aspects of LV to 33kV Underground work, including:
Cable trenching, duct installation, cable pulling and installation
Cable jointing up to 33kV using client-supplied materials
Unplanned/emergency works
Unlooping services
Testing, backfill and reinstatement
Subcontractor management
Option of end-to-end delivery of underground projects
Traffic Management
NGED is currently considering awarding these works on a regional basis.
- Other Requirements Applicable to both Categories
Successful contractors will be expected to provide:
Design & Consents:
Survey planning and delivery
Utility, asset and ground investigations
Outline and detailed design development
Design management and coordination
Electrical safety design
Planning and consent support
CDM & HSEQ Responsibilities:
Principal Designer duties under CDM 2015
Principal Contractor responsibilities
Safe system of work management
Environmental compliance
Quality assurance and security management
Stakeholder & Land Management:
Landowner engagement
Statutory undertaker liaison
Coordination with Local Authorities, Network Rail, Environment Agency and DNOs
Support for access agreements and Section 172 evidence
Project Delivery
Project and programme management
Site management and supervision
Resource planning and deployment
Technical stakeholder support
Record keeping and document control
Compliance with all NGED standards and Management of Works procedures
Multi discipline lot/s are still being considered.
CPV: Construction work for electricity power lines · Electricity distribution and related services · Excavating and earthmoving work · Installation of cable laying · Overhead line construction · Surface work for roads
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 5 yrs · up to 10 yrs from 7 Sept 2028
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1PlannedRenewal
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- “Contractor Partnership to support our secondary network underground…” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NATIONAL GRID UK LIMITED buys Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines, for highways, roads, airfields and railways; flatwork (CPV 4523), and who usually turns up
NATIONAL GRID UK LIMITED’s published record next to the market for the same work. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines, for highways, roads, airfields and railways; flatwork (CPV 4523) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 74 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Missing bid counts may hide more single-bid awards. This share is a minimum.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid20% / 3%
2–30% / 21%
4–60% / 38%
7+80% / 38%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 4523Published estimate£1.3bn
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 184 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid3%
2–321%
4–638%
7+38%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Utilities
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Nov 2026, 09:41 GMT
- Last source update
- 2 Nov 2026, 09:41 GMT
- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-103552- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-07952cFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
2 Nov 2026 → 7 Sept 2028 · 3 dates- Planning notice published20h ago2 Nov 2026, 09:41 GMT
- Today3 Nov 2026
- Market engagementin 10 days13 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
Interested suppliers are invited to provide:
- Company overview and relevant experience
- Areas of interest (Underground Cabling or Overhead Wood Pole)
- Details of relevant accreditations and certifications
- Examples of similar projects or services delivered
- Any innovative approaches or technologies relevant to the sector
The Document should be limited to a total of 2 pages of A4. A list of accreditations is all that is required at this stage, with validation to take place in the future tender opportunity.
Please submit to: nged.ngedpartnershipugoh@nationalgrid.co.uk
Following this notice, National Grid will:
- Conduct an in-person market engagement supplier day to be held on 30th November 2026 in the Worcester area with interested suppliers. National Grid reserves its right, in its sole discretion, to select attendees to this engagement day based on experience and capability. A signed non-disclosure agreement will be required to be provided prior to attendance of the day.
- Contract starts7 Sept 2028
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published2 Nov 2026, 09:41 GMTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender