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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

Utilities Management Service

Essex County Council · Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 14:27.

Opportunity overview

Essex County Council (ECC) is conducting a market engagement exercise to assess the capability and capacity of suppliers to deliver a comprehensive Utilities Management (UM) service. ECC currently contract with Mitie to provide Bureau Services for electricity, gas and water, alongside a Trading Desk and Risk Management Service for the flexible purchasing of electricity and gas. Mitie also serves as ECC's Total Facilities Management (TFM) provider, a contract which is currently out for tender. The future Utilities Management service will need to work closely with the appointed TFM provider, who will be responsible for implementing any energy efficiency recommendations made by the UM provider. ECCs current approx annual consumption volume is: Electricity: 27,000 MwH Gas: 506,000 therms ECC have 43 HH meters (39 COP5 and 4 COP3) and circa 275 Non HH meters in the portfolio. The proposed scope includes the following services: Utilities Bureau Service - a comprehensive set of services that can enable ECC to effectively manage its utility accounts, costs and data; o Bill Validation o Detecting billing errors and ensuring accurate charges o Customer support o Tennant billing where applicable o Supplier management and query resolution o Budgeting and forecasting including assistance to client in creating accurate budgets and forecasts for upcoming utilities costs o Support to client in supplier procurement Utilities Trading Desk - managing the purchasing of electricity and gas on wholesale markets in accordance with an agreed risk management policy; o Market access and forward purchase recommendations o Risk Management and Hedging o Risk Analysis o Market intelligence and real-time market data o Regulatory compliance o Forecasting consumption Data Collection and Analysis - collection, processing and data management of consumption data including the use of analytical tools to provide insight into usage patterns, forecast future demand and identify areas for potential savings. Ability for client to access data online and track data in real-time; o Data collation and reporting o Benchmarking o Consumption tracking o Identifying inefficiencies and anomalies in usage o Recommendations to achieve efficiencies based on data o Real-time online access to usage and performance data Your feedback will help us: • Validate the feasibility of our requirements • Understand market capability and innovation • Identify potential opportunities and challenges The purpose of this questionnaire is to: • Confirm whether suppliers can deliver the required services • Gather information on delivery models, technology and innovation • Understand commercial approaches • Identify any gaps or recommendations for improvement It is important to note that this market engagement exercise is not a call for competition and as such you will to express your interest in any future tender opportunity once the tender notice is published on Find a Tender. It should also be noted that this exercise invites organisations to express an interest in this exercise only, and it is not a pre-qualification questionnaire, and is not part of any section process. The market engagement is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise. An expression of interest is no indication of a commitment to participate in any future tendering process nor does it infer any preferential or special status on those individuals and organisations who participate.

Classification

  • CPV71314000 — Energy and related services

Lots

  • Lot 1Value not stated

Documents and notices

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
CO19PC
Status
planning
Above Threshold
Yes
Main Procurement Category
services

Amendments

Entry 1
Id
084127-2025
Description
Amendment to contact email address

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
planning

Suitability

Sme
Yes

Contract period

Ends
30 Sept 2028, 23:59
Starts
1 Oct 2026, 00:00

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Entry 2
Region
UK
Country
GB
Country Name
United Kingdom

Additional Classifications

Entry 1
Id
71314000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Energy and related services

Planning and budget

Documents

Entry 1
Id
083967-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
17 Dec 2025, 15:26
Entry 2
Id
084127-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK2
Description
Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
marketEngagementNotice
Published
18 Dec 2025, 09:17

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
engagement
Type
engagement
Status
scheduled
Due
12 Jan 2026, 23:59
Description
To participate in the market engagement questionnaire, please fill out this form: https://forms.office.com/e/KD0hYnUjQa

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-PPON-PWVM-4844-NRQH
Name
Essex County Council

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKH36
Country
GB
Locality
Chelmsford
Postal Code
CM1 1QH
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
County Hall, Market Road

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Public authority - sub-central government

Identifier

Id
PWVM-4844-NRQH
Scheme
GB-PPON

Contact

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Chelmsford · UKH36 · CM1 1QH · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UK · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-05f81f-2025-12-18T09:17:30ZPreliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ·