Procurement of Market Administration Support Services

The Central Market Agency Limited ("the CMA") is seeking expressions of interest from potential suppliers with respect to the provision of services in connection with the ongoing application development and maintenance and management of day-to-day operations of its principal Central Systems, along with other supporting systems.

The CMA's systems are used to manage the Wholesale Water Market in Scotland, as regulated by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS). Its operational and development activities are derived from its Market Code, as amended and developed by the Market's Participants, which include Scottish Water, as the sole Wholesaler, and its Licensed Providers. WICS can introduce changes or veto changes proposed by the Market.

The two key functional components of Central Systems are:

Central Settlement System - the systems and business processes operated and maintained by the CMA to support the calculation of Wholesale Charges.

Supply Point Register - the database (and any related business processes) which facilitates the Registration of Supply Points to Licensed Providers and the Transfer of Supply Points from one Licensed Provider to another Licensed Provider.

The services in scope that we are seeking expressions of interest are split into 2 Lots:

Lot 1 - Application Development & Maintenance

Services include provision of application development and maintenance services of the Central Systems in-line with Market and Regulatory requirements. This would involve delivery of a minimum of two releases of software each year and production of related documentation.

Lot 2 - Central Systems Operations

Services required will include day-to-day operation of the Central Systems and provision of service to agreed service levels; maintain overall reliability and security levels.

In addition, the supplier awarded Lot 2 would lead and advise on the procurement of Lot 3, which is the contract for the Central Systems physical hosting location and physical security and connectivity between the hosting location and the CMA location in Scotland and the CMA's end customers the Market Participants.

Total Lot values (estimated) over the three-year contract period plus the one year discretionary extension period:

Lot 1 - £3,100,000 including VAT

Lot 2 - £1,300,000 including VAT

Suppliers who express an interest in engaging with the CMA will be required to complete a short summary of their organisation background and experience. A Supplier can express an interest in both Lots but cannot be awarded both Lots.

The CMA is not a contracting authority for the purposes of the Procurement Act 2023 (as amended) and its procurement activities are not subject to the Procurement Act 2023.

Advertisement of any contract in the 'Find a Tender' is at the sole discretion of the CMA and is undertaken on a voluntary basis with no obligation to comply with the Procurement Act 2023 (as amended).