DRD Roads Service : Future street lighting strategy for Northern Ireland

UK-Belfast: Street-lighting maintenance services.

Section I: Contracting Authority
   Title: UK-Belfast: Street-lighting maintenance services.
   I.1)Name, Addresses and Contact Point(s):
      Department for Regional Development
      TransportNI Procurement Branch, Clarence Court, Adelaide Street, Belfast, BT2 8GB, United Kingdom
      Email: tni-procurement@drdni.gov.uk, URL: www.drdni.gov.uk
      Attn: Adam Heanen

      Further information can be obtained at: As Above
   I.2)Type of the contracting authority:
      Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions

   I.3) Main activity:
      General Public Services

   I.4) Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities:
      The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: No

Section II.A: Object Of The Contract (Works)
   II.1)Title attributed to the contract by contracting authority: Future street lighting strategy for Northern Ireland   
   II.2)Type of contract and location of works:   
            
      Region Codes: UKN - NORTHERN IRELAND      
   II.3)Information on framework agreement:
      The notice involves the establishment of a framework agreement: No
   II.4)Short description of nature and scope of works:
      Street-lighting maintenance services. Street-lighting equipment. Street-lighting columns. Commissioning of public lighting installations. Electrical services. Energy-efficiency consultancy services. Street lamps. 1.Introduction to Market Sounding

TransportNI, a business unit of the Department for Regional Development, owns and maintains approximately 285,000 public street lights across Northern Ireland.

The Authority is issuing this prior information notice ('PIN') to seek the market's views on how it can engage with the Private Sector to optimise the operational and financial efficiency of street lighting services in Northern Ireland.


2.Background information

TransportNI aims, as far as is reasonably practicable, to provide street lighting that complies with BS 5489 / BS EN13201- Code of practice for the design of road lighting.

TransportNI’s Policy and Procedures Guide in relation to street lighting is available online: https://www.drdni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/drd/Street-Lighting-RSPPG-E072.pdf

3.Operational / management arrangements

At present TransportNI uses a mix of employees and contractors to deliver and maintain streetlights. Broadly, TransportNI is responsible for the development of street lighting policy and specifications, supplemented by contractors who are engaged on fixed term contracts to undertake street lighting maintenance, renewals and new provision.

3.Current Stock and indicative operating costs

The street lighting stock in Northern Ireland comprises the following luminaires:



Lamp Type___Nominal Wattage__Quantity
Son-t_____________50_________27,341
Son-t_____________70_________61,654
Son-t_____________100________14,053
Son-t_____________150________35,132
Son-t_____________250________12,851
Son-t_____________400_________537
Sox (low Loss)______35 ________33,457
Sox (low Loss)______55 ________86,344
Sox (low Loss)______90 ________4,968
Sox (low Loss)_____135 ________1,780
Sox E_____________36 ________1,944
Metal Halide_______150 ________141
Metal Halide_______250 _________61
CDM-T___________Various ______770
Compact Fluorescent Various______749
CosmoPolis _______Various_______726
LED______________Various______2,238
MBFU (Mercury_____Various______105
Total No of Street Lights__________284,851

The annual electricity consumption of street lighting in Northern Ireland is approximately 103.7_GWh (103,700,000 units). This is mostly on a dusk-to-dawn unmetered tariff as is typical for street lighting systems in the UK. Only a very small proportion of the lighting operates continuously, e.g. at subways, central refuge islands etc. Electricity is procured periodically via competitive tenders.

The average running costs incurred by TransportNI in delivering street lighting services equates to £26.0m per annum. In a typically funded year, this is comprised of £10.0m electricity costs, £11.0m maintenance and £5.0m on capital maintenance / replacement works. However, it should be noted that resource budgets have been very constrained in recent years, leading to periods of reduced maintenance response.

4.Authority’s Requirements

The Authority would like to receive outline submissions in response to this market sounding from organisations and consortia with their views on how they could work with TransportNI, on a basis to be determined, to improve the overall operational and financial efficiency of street lighting services in Northern Ireland. Submissions should address the following areas of particular interest to the Authority:

Information on the accumulated skills and experience of interested parties in the area of street lighting design, build, financing, operating and maintenance.

High level technical proposals as to how the existing street lighting assets could be transitioned to a more energy efficient and lower maintenance stock.

High level commercial proposals as to how the Private Sector could work with TransportNI to deliver street lighting services in a way that would demonstrate clear value for money for TransportNI as a public authority. The Authority requests that commercially sensitive information is not submitted.

In responding to these requirements, submissions should take account of the current operating challenges being faced by TransportNI, which include:

Backlog maintenance on existing street lighting stock. TransportNI’s capital spend on street lights has only permitted an average of 3,000 street lights to be renewed annually, equating to an asset replacement cycle of 90 years. A large proportion of street lights are beyond the end of their useful life and in need of replacement.

Ageing underground cable network. TransportNI owns and maintains the underground cable network from the electricity utility provider’s point of supply to street lights. Large parts of the wiring network are becoming old and a survey and estimate of the financial investment required in the wiring network has not yet been undertaken.

Budgetary outlook. As with all parts of the Public Sector, fiscal austerity means that operating budgets will be constrained in the coming years. This means that any future operating model must demonstrate that street lighting operating costs are at the forefront of financial efficiency. It is recognised that this may necessitate up-front investment.

Upon receipt of submissions, the Authority may decide (but is not obliged) to engage directly with all or some submitting parties to seek further views or information. The Authority reserves the right to use the information submitted by interested parties to inform future procurements.

In issuing this PIN and engaging with the market, the Authority is not committing to carrying out any procurement in relation to the requirements stated in this PIN. Participation (or non-participation) in this soft market testing exercise will not be taken into account in any future procurement process. The Authority will not be liable to reimburse any costs incurred by any parties who respond to this PIN.

The final legal form of this potential opportunity has yet to be resolved (including, without limitation, the identity of the Contracting Authority and the relevant CPV codes) and further information will be provided in any subsequent advertisement
      Lots (for information about lots, use Annex B as many times as there are lots):
      This contract is divided into lots: No          
   II.5)Common Procurement Vocabulary:
      50232100 - Street-lighting maintenance services.
      34928500 - Street-lighting equipment.
      34928510 - Street-lighting columns.
      50232110 - Commissioning of public lighting installations.
      71314100 - Electrical services.
      71314300 - Energy-efficiency consultancy services.
      34928530 - Street lamps.
   II.6)Scheduled date for start of award procedures and duration of the contract: Not Provided
   II.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA):
      The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): Yes
   II.8)Additional Information:
      Organisations wishing to respond to this market engagement exercise should include in their response, details of their full company name and address and a contact point (name, email and phone number) should the Authority wish to contact them. Responses should be submitted via email to contact@sibni.org by no later than 3pm on Friday, 20th November 2015. Respondents are responsible for ensuring delivery and the Authority cannot accept responsibility for any submissions not received.       

   
Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial And Technical Information
   III.1)Conditions relating to the contract
   III.1.1)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:
      Not Provided      
   III.2)Conditions For Participation
   III.2.1)Information about reserved contracts: Not Provided      
Section VI: Complementary Information
   VI.1)Information about European Union funds: No   
   VI.2)Additional Information:
      To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=159340307
GO-2015109-PRO-7172925 TKR-2015109-PRO-7172924
   VI.3)Information On General Regulatory Framework
      Relevant governmental Internet sites where information can be found:
      Not Provided

   VI.4)Date Of Dispatch Of This Notice: 09/10/2015