Commission for Regulation of Utilities

The Decarbonisation Division is seeking energy expert support in the area of Decarbonisation, largely consisting of economic support however some technical support will be required also. The CRU requires that the tenderer will manage all aspects of the contract or subcontract certain aspects if required. Although the teams cover different areas, there is significant complementarity in the work required to be carried out by the teams which require consultancy support. For example, connections workstream activity (policy, frameworks etc) applies to each of the electricity interconnection, connections, offshore, and emerging regulatory frameworks teams within the division. As such the Decarbonisation Division is seeking expert energy consultancy support as there is a significant amount of relativity and overlap between the work items across the Division which would not readily lend to the appointment of multiple consultants. The Division’s preference is to have a consistent approach for these work items so that approaches can be streamlined which will ensure future work will be more manageable and consistent. It will also assist in ensuring additional cross-training and knowledge of processes across the division.

Section 47 of the 1999 Act, which refers to section 45 of the Electricity Supply Act 1927, gives the Contracting Authority legal powers to decide to grant or refuse to grant a special order on the application of ESB, or of a holder of an authorisation to construct or reconstruct a generating station for the purpose of supply to final customers, or to construct an interconnector, or of a person who has applied for such an authorisation, in certain circumstances. Section 45 of the Electricity Supply Act sets out the legal basis for the compulsory acquisition of any land, easement, or other right over land, or to acquire or use compulsorily any right over land by special order. Section 45 also establishes a procedure for exercising that compulsory acquisition power. In considering whether or not to grant a special order the Contracting Authority may hold a public inquiry. This legislation can be found on www.irishstatutebook.ie and the revised acts, administrative consolidations of the legislation, can be found on www.lawreform.ie. The Contracting Authority’s objective in publishing this RFT is to procure an external managed service to provide all necessary administrative and processing tasks to enable the review of any application received for a special order(s). This would include all Programme Management functions and providing all supports required by the Inspector, who will deliver a reasoned report to the Commission for consideration. This RFT seeks to engage suitably experienced organisations who are subject matter experts with extensive knowledge, understanding and experience in: • administering and overseeing complex projects involving multiple stakeholders; • organising, conducting and reporting on public inquiries for major infrastructure projects, including Compulsory Purchases Orders; • engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including landowners, government agencies, and semi-state entities; • the preparation of written reports in a timely manner that are clear and concise and presented to the highest professional standard, ready for publication. Experience in considering technical requirements would be beneficial, particularly in relation to electricity networks. For example, engaging with technical experts on the relevance or impact of technical matters. The Secretariat will procure all administrative, logistical, technical and environmental supports where required to complete the Inspector’s review

Section 47 of the 1999 Act, which refers to section 45 of the Electricity Supply Act 1927, gives the Contracting Authority legal powers to decide to grant or refuse to grant a special order on the application of ESB, or of a holder of an authorisation to construct or reconstruct a generating station for the purpose of supply to final customers, or to construct an interconnector, or of a person who has applied for such an authorisation, in certain circumstances. Section 45 of the Electricity Supply Act sets out the legal basis for the compulsory acquisition of any land, easement, or other right over land, or to acquire or use compulsorily any right over land by special order. Section 45 also establishes a procedure for exercising that compulsory acquisition power. In considering whether or not to grant a special order the Contracting Authority may hold a public inquiry. This legislation can be found on www.irishstatutebook.ie and the revised acts, administrative consolidations of the legislation, can be found on www.lawreform.ie. The Contracting Authority expects that one or more applications for a special order may be received and is seeking (by this Competition) to appoint a framework of Inspectors. The Contracting Authority is seeking an Inspector to review, chair a public inquiry (if required), prepare a written reasoned report, assess the relevant information and make a recommendation to the Commissioners on an application for a special order(s). The Contracting Authority is proposing that a panel of Inspectors be procured. The Inspector will work closely with a secretariat, who will provide all administrative, logistical, technical and environmental supports, where required, to complete the review. The Contracting Authority will separately appoint a service provider to provide Secretariat services to support the Contracting Authority and any appointed Inspector.

In summary, the Services comprise Technical Consultancy Support for the operation of the Petroleum Safety Framework (PSF). This Competition is divided into 3 (three) Lots as described below: Lot 1 – Multidisciplinary Services: Technical support provision for the effective and efficient operation of the Framework, including expertise in areas such as upstream oil and gas, pipelines and subsea equipment, risk assessment, QRAs/modelling and ALARP assessments, safety management systems, process engineering, electrical, control and instrumentation, technical safety and emergency response, lifting operations, marine integrity/classification, marine operations, facilities verification, human factors, environmental, audit/inspection, incident investigations. Lot 2 – Wells: Technical support provision from well engineering specialists, including expertise in areas such as well engineering, well plugging and abandonment/decommissioning, well verification, pressure control equipment, well testing, audit/inspection, incident investigations. Lot 3 – Drilling: Technical support provision from offshore drilling specialists, including audit, inspection and safety case assessment of drilling rigs, rig control systems including BOP and BOP control systems, rig cyber security, Marine systems, audit/inspection of rigs, incident investigations.

The CRU intends to appoint a single Managed Service Provider (MSP) through this Services Framework Agreement to deliver comprehensive ICT Managed Services. This will encompass the ICT Service Desk, Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) as a Service, the provision of optional dedicated support resources, and ad-hoc professional service resources to assist with a range of ICT projects and some operational activities. The appointed Service Provider will be responsible for delivering all necessary technical support and expertise to manage the CRU’s ICT needs, covering infrastructure, cloud services, both physical and virtual systems, as well as applications and services across Levels 1, 2, and 3. The framework agreement will initially run for two years, with the possibility of two further 12-month extensions, up to a total maximum duration of four years. The ICT Managed Services and SOC Services provided under this Services Framework Agreement will be needed continuously for the entire duration of the contract. Optional dedicated resources and ad-hoc project work will be engaged as required, with such assignments awarded through agreed Statements of Work (SoWs) at the sole discretion of the CRU.

The Decarbonisation Division is seeking energy expert support in the area of Decarbonisation, largely consisting of economic support however some technical support will be required also. The CRU requires that the tenderer will manage all aspects of the contract or subcontract certain aspects if required. Although the teams cover different areas, there is significant complementarity in the work required to be carried out by the teams which require consultancy support. For example, connections workstream activity (policy, frameworks etc) applies to each of the electricity interconnection, connections, offshore, and emerging regulatory frameworks teams within the division. As such the Decarbonisation Division is seeking expert energy consultancy support as there is a significant amount of relativity and overlap between the work items across the Division which would not readily lend to the appointment of multiple consultants. The Division’s preference is to have a consistent approach for these work items so that approaches can be streamlined which will ensure future work will be more manageable and consistent. It will also assist in ensuring additional cross-training and knowledge of processes across the division.

The CRU and UR (collectively the Regulatory Authorities (“RAs")) jointly regulate the SEM through the SEMC. The SEMC was established by virtue of Section 8A Electricity Regulation Act 1999 as inserted by section 4 of the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) Act 2007, and Article 6 (1) of the Electricity (Single Wholesale Market) (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 to conduct trading in the wholesale electricity market in both Ireland and Northern Ireland on an All-Island basis. The forgoing legislation sets out the duties and powers of the SEMC. Both sets of legislation endeavour to achieve similar objectives for the SEM. The SEMC is representative of the RAs and makes decision on relevant functions on behalf of the RAs in relation to a SEM matters. As these decisions are fundamental to the development, effectiveness and operation of the SEM, it is of the utmost importance that expert legal advice is available to the SEMC at all times. It is essential that SEMC decisions are made with full adherence to its statutory duties and the principles of good regulation in both jurisdictions in which it operates. The CRU is undertaking this procurement jointly with Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation.

AWARD 011-03-603 Consultancy Support for Gas Price Control 6 and related matters

AWARD 011-03-612 Provision of RESS Auction Monitor and Market Auditor Support

AWARD 011-03-608 REMIT Formal Investigation Support