National Grid Electricity Transmission PLC and Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission PLC (the "Employers") are jointly developing a HVDC link between N Peterhead, Scotland and Norfolk, England (the "HVDC Link"). This notice concerns the procurement and award of contract(s) for:

• Design, manufacture, testing, commissioning, trial running, provision of critical spares for two HVDC converter stations located in Scotland and England.

• One converter will be located at the Netherton Hub, near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The other will be located in Norfolk, England.

• The converters will each be capable of converting 2GW of AC to DC energy and DC to AC energy.

• The two converters will be linked by two no. 2GW capacity 525kV cables, much of which will be routed in the North Sea.

• There is an option that it will be routed through a DCSS (DC Switching Station) also to be located within the Netherton Hub

• Front-end engineering design services, in relation to any or all of the aforementioned scope.

• The Employers will require the Preferred Bidder to enter a Long-Term Service Agreement (LTSA) for the HVDC converter technology, either as part of the main contract or a standalone contracts(s). This may be structured as:

1: a single agreement covering the converters at Netherton Hub and in Norfolk together, with both Employers acting jointly or as a Joint Venture, or;

2: two separate agreements, one with each Employer, covering converters in their respective areas of geographic responsibility individually.

The scope of this Procurement includes the provision of the front end engineering, the detailed design, manufacture, assembly, install, test, commission, trial operation, provision of critical spares and an option for maintenance support for 2 no. 2GW HVDC converters, one located at the Netherton Hub in Scotland and the other in Norfolk, England.

The Employers reserve the right to take up to a maximum of three Suppliers through the prequalification process and into the tender process.

Applicants are advised that, for the purpose of the contract, the Employers may potentially enter into joint venture arrangements prior to awarding any contract from this activity. If this approach were to be adopted and, depending on the nature of the joint venture arrangements, the successful applicant(s) may be required to enter into a contract with a new JV entity relating to the execution of the works and services being procured.

The Employers are considering the potential to award early works.