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PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITY

BVLOS Drone Operationalisation

NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC · Transparency notice on Find a Tender

Tender information last checkedLast checked 30 Sept 2026, 02:38.

Opportunity overview

Continued development of an autonomous drone capability to scale routine BVLOS operations across the NGET network.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

SEESAI LIMITED

Matched by number
Published award value
£23m
Awarded
21 May 2025
Award ID
1
Status
active
Identifier
GB-COH 10143962
Location
Chichester, UKJ27, PO18 9AB, United Kingdom

Classification

No classification was supplied.

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
ocds-h6vhtk-051f03
Status
complete
Procurement Method
direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Why this procedure was chosen
Competition is absent for technical reasons and there are no reasonable alternatives (Procurement Act 2023, Schedule 5, paragraph 6): Through extensive work with National Grid since 2021, sees.ai has developed a distinct operational capability for conducting closequarter, detailed Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) inspection missions on live transmission network assets from a remote location, including extended transits and the use of advanced communications links. As of May 2025, we understand Sees.ai to be the only company holding the specific and advanced Operational Authorisation from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)) required to deploy an exclusive capability critical for the delivery of National Grid's specific, advanced network inspection requirements. Operationalisation of this capability is enabled by continuation of joint intellectual property (IP) rights development; advanced proprietary technology; unique operational methodologies; and specialised in-house expertise, cultivated since 2018. National Grid undertakes Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) network asset inspections internally. Other inspection methodologies do not meet National Grid's complex and evolving demands for routine, scalable, and data-rich network oversight. The technical complexity and demonstrated operational safety maturity required by the CAA for the issue of the requisite Operational Authorisation to deliver this work establishes a high technical barrier, resulting in an absence of competition from other third-party suppliers. There are no other reasonable alternatives to Sees.ai currently offering a service of directly comparable scope, precision, safety, or operational efficiency; nor has it been demonstrated to the CAA the critical technical infrastructure, proven methodology, and requisite safety case to meet the standards for obtaining authorisation to carry out this work.

Legal basis

Id
2023/54
Scheme
UKPGA

Special regime

utilities

Procedure reasons

Entry 1
Id
singleSuppliersTechnicalReasons

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
complete

Suitability

Sme
Yes

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
conflictOfInterest
Description
Not published
Document Type
conflictOfInterest

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-COH-02366977
Name
NATIONAL GRID ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PLC

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKI32
Country
GB
Locality
London
Postal Code
WC2N 5EH
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
1 - 3 Strand

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
privateUtility
Scheme
UK_CA_TYPE
Description
Private utility

Identifier

Id
02366977
Scheme
GB-COH

Contact

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Id
PHHJ-6513-BWZT
Scheme
GB-PPON
Organisation 2
Id
GB-COH-10143962
Name
SEESAI LIMITED

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKJ27
Country
GB
Locality
Chichester
Postal Code
PO18 9AB
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Lavant House

Details

Vcse
No
Scale
sme
Sheltered Workshop
No
Public Service Mission Organization
No

Identifier

Id
10143962
Scheme
GB-COH

Contact

Additional Identifiers

Entry 1
Id
PYZP-2219-PRLQ
Scheme
GB-PPON

Award information

Award 1
Id
1
Date
22 May 2025, 00:00
Status
active
Has Renewal
Yes
Above Threshold
Yes
Main Procurement Category
services

Items

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
73100000
Scheme
CPV
Description
Research and experimental development services

Value

Currency
GBP
Including VAT
22,950,000

Renewal

Description
Option for 3 x 2 year extensions. Decisions on whether to utilise extension options will be based on a number of factors including supplier performance, budgetary considerations and market considerations.

Documents

Entry 1
Id
025236-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK5
Description
Transparency notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
awardNotice
Published
22 May 2025, 16:14
Entry 2
Id
038390-2025
Format
text/html
Notice Type
UK6
Description
Contract award notice on Find a Tender
Document Type
awardNotice
Published
8 Jul 2025, 17:06

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-COH-10143962
Name
SEESAI LIMITED

Milestones

Entry 1
Id
1
Type
futureSignatureDate
Status
scheduled
Due
8 Jul 2025, 23:59

Related lots

1

Contract period

Ends
31 Mar 2026, 23:59
Starts
8 Jul 2025, 00:00
Max Extent Date
31 Mar 2032, 23:59

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · London · UKI32 · WC2N 5EH · United Kingdom

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-051f03-2025-07-08T17:06:29+01:00Transparency notice on Find a Tender ·