The Electricity (Early-Model Competitive Tenders for Onshore Transmission Licences) Regulations 2025

• (f) any other such information in relation to any stage of the onshore transmission tender exercise as the Authority may determine is necessary in relation to the exercise by the delivery body of its functions conferred by these Regulations.

SCHEDULE 7 — Events Of Re-Run

1

The events in this Schedule are—

• (a) a material change to the qualifying project,

• (b) the delivery body does not receive any completed and compliant pre-qualification questionnaires in accordance with regulation 11,

• (c) the delivery body does not receive any completed and compliant tenders in accordance with regulation 13,

• (d) the delivery body does not receive any completed and compliant best and final offers in accordance with regulation 14,

• (e) a provisional preferred bidder withdraws or is disqualified from an onshore transmission tender exercise,

• (f) a preferred bidder withdraws or is disqualified from an onshore transmission tender exercise and the delivery body has not determined a reserve bidder in respect of that qualifying project,

• (g) the matters referred to in the notice published in accordance with regulation 18(5) are not resolved by a preferred bidder and the delivery body has not determined a reserve bidder,

• (h) a reserve bidder withdraws or is disqualified from an onshore transmission tender exercise after a preferred bidder has withdrawn or has been disqualified from that onshore transmission tender exercise or after a preferred bidder has failed to resolve the matters referred to in the notice published in accordance with regulation 18(5),

• (i) a successful bidder withdraws from an onshore transmission tender exercise,

• (j) a successful bidder has been disqualified from an onshore transmission tender exercise,

• (k) a successful bidder fails to make a payment in accordance with regulation 24(3), and

• (l) the Authority determines that it would not be appropriate to grant an onshore transmission licence to any qualifying bidder.

SCHEDULE 8 — Events Of Cancellation

1

The events in this paragraph are—

• (a) there are no bidders or qualifying bidders in respect of a qualifying project,

• (b) a project fails to meet, or ceases to meet, any criterion of a relevant electricity project suitable for an early-model tender exercise pursuant to the Electricity (Criteria for Relevant Electricity Projects) (Transmission) Regulations 2024[^f00007], and

• (c) a qualifying project fails to meet, or ceases to meet, the entry conditions specified in paragraph 1 of Schedule 2, in accordance with regulation 7.

2

The event in this paragraph is a change in circumstances that is likely to result in the interests of existing and future consumers being materially negatively affected if an onshore transmission licence is awarded at the conclusion of the onshore transmission tender exercise.

SCHEDULE 9 — Events Of Disqualification

1

The events in this Schedule in relation to bidder, qualifying bidder, provisional preferred bidder, preferred bidder, reserve bidder or successful bidder, as the case may be, are—

• (a) causing or inducing any person to enter into an agreement to collude or to inform a holder of an electricity system operator licence, holder of a transmission licence, bidder, qualifying bidder, provisional preferred bidder, preferred bidder, reserve bidder or successful bidder of the amount of any rival tender,

• (b) a material breach of any rules particular to the pre-qualification, invitation to tender and best and final offer stages of an onshore transmission tender exercise or any requirements specified in these Regulations,

• (c) submitting any information to a tender party which is false or misleading unless the provision of further information is acceptable to the tender party,

• (d) engaging in, attempting to engage in, allowing or encouraging any anti-competitive behaviour by or between any holder of an electricity system operator licence, holder of a transmission licence, bidder, qualifying bidder, provisional preferred bidder, preferred bidder, reserve bidder or successful bidder,

• (e) having been determined by the Secretary of State to pose a threat to the national security of the United Kingdom,

• (f) doing anything which would constitute the commission of an offence under section 1, 2 or 6 of the Bribery Act 2010[^f00008],

• (g) failure to make any payment or provide any security as required in accordance with these Regulations, unless that failure has been remedied within a period not exceeding ten days in accordance with regulation 33,

• (h) fixing or adjusting the amount of its tender by or in accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any other bidder, qualifying bidder, provisional preferred bidder, preferred bidder, reserve bidder or successful bidder or by improperly using insider information,

• (i) entering into any agreement or arrangement with any other bidder, qualifying bidder, provisional preferred bidder, preferred bidder, reserve bidder or successful bidder to refrain from submitting a tender or as to the amount of the tender submitted,

• (j) communicating to any person other than the tender party the details of its proposed tender in respect of a qualifying project, except where this disclosure is made in confidence in order to obtain quotations necessary for the preparation of that tender,

• (k) where the bidding entity is a bidder group, any change to the membership of that bidder group other than a change which has been permitted by the delivery body,

• (l) offering to pay or give any sum of money, inducement or valuable consideration directly or indirectly to any officer of the tender party or the holder of a transmission licence affected by a qualifying project in relation to any actions or omissions,

• (m) contacting any officer of the tender party or the holder of a transmission licence affected by a qualifying project, outside any rules particular to the pre-qualification, invitation to tender and best and final offer stages of an onshore transmission tender exercise or any requirements specified in these Regulations, including without limitation contact for the purposes of discussing the possible transfer of such officer to the employment of the bidder, qualifying bidder, provisional preferred bidder, preferred bidder, reserve bidder or successful bidder for the purpose of an onshore transmission tender exercise,

• (n) deriving an unfair advantage from having participated in preliminary market engagement in relation to an onshore transmission tender exercise where that advantage cannot be avoided,

• (o) deriving an unfair advantage from a conflict of interest and either—

• (i) the advantage cannot be avoided, or

• (ii) the bidder, qualifying bidder, provisional preferred bidder, preferred bidder, reserve bidder or successful bidder will not take steps that the Authority considers are necessary in order to ensure it does not derive an unfair advantage, and

• (p) having its application for the onshore transmission licence which is the subject of the onshore transmission tender exercise refused or cancelled by the Authority in accordance with regulation 27 or permanently withdrawing its application.

Signed

The seal of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority here affixed is authenticated by the signature of

Mark McAllister — A member of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority — 26th March 2025

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

Michael Shanks — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Department of Energy Security and Net Zero — 3rd April 2025

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Sections 6C-6CD of the Electricity Act 1989 (“the Act”) enable the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (“the Authority”) to make regulations in respect of competitive tenders for a “relevant electricity project” as defined in section 6BA(1) of the Act. Projects competitively tendered under this instrument will be those where the design, construction and delivery of the project is to be tendered.

Tenders must be run by a “delivery body” with some key decision-making by the Authority in the tender process. The Authority is also responsible for conducting the licence application process in respect to the grant of a transmission licence to a “successful bidder” at the end of the tender exercise.

The competitive tender exercise comprises the following stages:

• A pre-qualification stage for the delivery body to determine which bidders are to become qualifying bidders (regulations 10 & 11),

• An invitation to tender stage for the delivery body to determine which qualifying bidder is to be selected to become the preferred bidder (regulations 12 & 13),

• Where the delivery body determines, in accordance with the criteria set out in the invitation to tender documentation, that there is to be a best and final offer stage (regulation 14),

• A delivery body functions assessment stage for the Authority to review the exercise by the delivery body of the functions conferred on it by this instrument (regulation 15), and

• A preferred bidder stage for the delivery body to determine the successful bidder of the tender exercise, who will be proposed to be granted on onshore transmission licence in respect of the qualifying project subject to this instrument (regulations 16-18).

A full Impact Assessment was published alongside the Electricity (Designation of Delivery Bodies) (Transmission) Regulations 2023 (S.I 2023/1228) that covers the impacts of introducing a competitive tender process to the electricity onshore network, as now implemented by these Regulations. The impact assessment is available from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero at 3-8 Whitehall Place, London, S1A 2EG and is published with the Electricity (Designation of Delivery Bodies) (Transmission) Regulations 2023 onlegislation.gov.uk.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1989 c.29. Sections 6C-6CD were substituted for section 6C and 6D by section 203 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 15 to, the Energy Act 2023 (c. 52).

[^f00002]: S.I. 2023/1228.

[^f00003]: 2000 c.7.

[^f00004]: 2000 c.36. Definition substituted by section 135(4) of the Energy Act 2004 (c. 20) for the purpose specified in article 2(1) of SI 2004/2184.

[^f00005]: 1989 c.29. Sections.6, 6A and 6B substituted for section 6 by Utilities Act 2000 (c. 27).

[^f00006]: S.I. 2024/168.

[^f00007]: S.I. 2024/168.

[^f00008]: 2010 c.23.