George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust (George Eliot) is looking for a preferred partner to undertake a review of its estate and the subsequent implementation of more energy-efficient technologies and eliminate a proportion of backlog-maintenance.

This will be undertaken as an energy-performance contract, where guarantees are required on the performance of the service in terms of kilowatt-hours, cash and/or carbon.

The estate is compact and based principally on a single site.

Heating is distributed primarily by steam, and the Trust is open to options including (a) remaining steam-based, (b) moving to hot-water-based, or (c) a hybrid or phased approach.

The Trust wishes to reduce its energy-consumption. It also wishes to optimise the supply of energy: currently there are three steam-raising boilers (all reaching end-of-life) and a solution may comprise local generation of electricity (e.g. using combined heat-and-power and/or renewable energy-generation).

The key objectives are to reduce net operating cost, energy-consumption and carbon-emissions. The project should also reduce backlog-maintenance. It should ensure proper availability of services throughout the project-implementation phase, and a proper level of resilience and back-up, according to the needs of an acute hospital site (including HTMs), thereafter.

George Eliot wish to use the Competitive Dialogue process to establish the best course of action for the Trust, given the complexities of the site, the options surrounding steam vs. hot-water distribution of heat and alternative technology-approaches for supply-optimisation and demand-reduction.

The provisional timetable is:

— Following PQQ to shortlist to maximum 8 providers to undertake a Dialogue.

— Site visits 31.3.2015 to 1.4.2015; subsequent visits available if required.

— Initial Dialogue 9-10 April 2015.

— 2nd phase of Dialogue with max 3 providers.

— Site visit 22-23 April 2015.

— 2nd Dialogue 5.5.2105.

— Contract Award (subject to Alcatel and Board approval) 15.5.2015.

Bidders will need to ensure the availability of resources for site visits and Dialogue meetings. Guarantees will be required over a set period of time not exceeding 20 years. A proportion of the performance risk will be transferred to the preferred partner.

Bidders should note that George Eliot has engaged Capita Property and Infrastructure Limited to manage the procurement process and to assist in subsequent client-side project-support.