Framework Agreement to Supply Carbon and Energy Infrastructure Upgrades Across the UK Public Sector

Aspirations Academies Trust seek to establish a framework agreement for Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) with a panel of capable suppliers to provide low energy carbon efficient infrastructure services, improvements, and upgrades to existing or new facilities in the UK education and public sector. These upgrades should offer client public sector bodies guaranteed resilience valued through reduced running costs, reduced energy consumption and reduced carbon emissions. Proposals should guarantee minimum levels of savings over the period of each contract let under the framework which may be 15-31 years long. This framework agreement will be available for all UK public sector bodies. Please see the Invitation to Tender document for more information. Aspirations Academy Trust and its partner enFrame CIC seek to procure and manage a framework of capable contractors to provide carbon and energy resilience and service improvements to the public sector in the UK. This may involve the installation and management of new or upgraded infrastructure or a guaranteed upgrade in services and resilience provided as the contractor feels appropriate. Framework bidders will be invited to offer contracting authorities service improvements that include the delivery of guaranteed resilience and efficiency valued in terms of reduced running costs, reduced energy consumption and reduced carbon emissions plus the management of those services. Service contract durations may be 15 to 31 years. The guarantee refers to the bidder taking all the risks and costs relating to the provision of all services including any relevant design, procurement, commissioning, operation, life cycling and continued guaranteed performance of the installation using the bidders staff, contractors, or in some circumstances those of the contracting authority as may be agreed in the contract. Service or infrastructure improvements or upgrades may include but not be limited to combined heat and power, boilers (steam LTHW or MTHW), district heating or cooling, heat recovery, chilling, heat pumps, fuel cells, chillers, air handling, controls, solar PV, battery or energy storage, lighting, insulation (roof, pipes, building, cladding or related), glazing, water savings, water abstraction, effluent treatment, waste to energy, pyrolysis, clinical waste destruction or conversion, processing or removal, biomass, biofuel, biogas, grid reinforcement, capacity market, STOR, electrical (HV, MV and LV) improvements (demand reduction, re-profiling, generation, aggregation, co-generation, tri-generation, wind generation, standby generation), private wire, virtual power station, load or power management, gas supplies (natural, anaerobic digestion or biogas, on or attached to the national grid or not) technology to change or improve maintenance or life cycling arrangements, building management, BMS, maintenance management, preventative maintenance, soft facilities management, electric or hybrid vehicles, vehicle charging, vehicle maintenance, transfer of staff, subcontracts or subcontractors and any related technologies or services that are relevant. In many cases the selected supplier may be expected to take over existing energy facilities building/ boiler house or plant rooms relevant to the project, sometimes under license and sometimes under a simple lease, for the operational period of the contract. In some cases, the contract may include the construction or modification of existing buildings or structures associated with the delivery of services. Details of the site, service requirements and the existing facilities will be set out in the scope of works for each project and mini competition, and bidders will be encouraged to attend the site to fully investigate the existing plant plus cost and plan their bids. Bids may be supported by variant bids going beyond any core proposal included in the project documentation, to cover additional operation and maintenance of existing plant, facilities management services and equipment as makes sense.