Public procurement notice: Prior Information Notice Without Call For Competition
Published: 2024-10-29
Region: FR105
Contract type: Works
CPV classification: 31321300 | 31321400 | 31321500 | 44321000 | 45244000: Marine construction works

Technical requirements: The energy transition is of strategic importance, and RTE, as operator of the electricity transmission network, is one of the key players in this transformation. Of all the challenges it faces, RTE's ability to connect offshore wind farm projects to the grid within a controlled timeframe and at controlled cost is of paramount importance.
RTE is willing to secure the long-term supply of underground and submarine 320 and 525 kV HVDC cable links needed to connect future French offshore wind farms to the grid (commissioning dates starting from 2034). The scope of the procurement may include additional HVAC/HVDC cable links, HVDC internal projects or future HVDC interconnection projects. 
The scope of works of these projects is EPCIC and IMR.
The present notice is issued on the basis of Article 58 of the Directive No. 2014/25/EU, which allows contracting authorities to conduct market consultations with a view to preparing the procurement within a consultative procedure known as operational sourcing.
RTE intends to carry out an operational sourcing procedure prior to launching a competitive tender for the award of a contract.
Please note that this sourcing notice is a preliminary request for information and does not constitute a call for tender or an invitation to enter into contract. Its sole purpose is to gather the information required to determine the needs of RTE while taking into account the state of the art and to increase the performance of the procurement procedure planned by RTE. 
No compensation will be paid to participants for their participation in the sourcing process.
A non-response to the sourcing notice does not prevent the supplier from participating in the subsequent call for tender and the response to the sourcing notice shall not affect the supplier's position in the call for tender.
Interested parties are invited to send their expression of interest (EOI) via the e-procurement platform Bravosolution (https://rte-france.bravosolution.com) on RFI number 24375.
Submission of EOI will be no later than November 8th, 2024, at 17:00 (French Time). The EOI must include all relevant information and documents to demonstrate the conditions for participation are met. It is also required to specify the contact details of the person(s) authorized to represent the applicant in this procedure.
Upon receipt of the EOI, a mutual non-disclosure agreement to be signed by the applicant will be sent to interested parties meeting the conditions for participation via the e-procurement platform Bravosolution. Providing the executed mutual non-disclosure agreement before November 15th, 2024, is a prerequisite for continuing the procedure.
Consultation rules along with a questionnaire will be made available to interested parties via the e-procurement platform Bravosolution on November 15th, 2024.
The submission date for the preliminary answers to the questionnaire will be no later than December 20th, 2024, at 17 :00 (French Time).
Face-to-face or video-conference meetings may be organized as soon as possible after the analysis of the preliminary answers to the questionnaire , and presumably during the first half of January 2025.
The submission date for final answers to the questionnaire will be no later than January 31st, 2025, at 17:00 (French Time).
Would RTE deem necessary to adapt the above-mentioned dates, the new calendar would be shared with all participants via the e-procurement platform Bravosolution.
RTE is willing to secure the procurement of approximately 1.300 km of HVDC cable links for the future French offshore wind call for tenders (with assumed manufacturing dates between 2031 and 2037) and, if applicable, approximately 1.450 km of HVDC cable links for the following offshore wind call for tenders (with assumed manufacturing dates between 2035 and 2042) and part or all of approximately 1.600 km for HVDC internal project (with assumed manufacturing date from 2031) . 
Approximately 40% of total cable length mentioned above would be underground cables and 60% would be submarine cables.
The scope of works of these projects is:
-	EPCIC: Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Transport, Installation/protection of Submarine cables, Commissioning, Remedy of any defect, Provision of all documents; and
-	IMR: Inspection of spares, Maintenance (refurbishment of spares), Repair (availability of personnel to perform repair joint operations including but not limited to jointers), Documentation for maintenance purposes.
The purpose of the present sourcing procedure is to collect the information required to determine the general conditions for the procurement planned by RTE.
Please note that the information provided in this sourcing notice is subject to change and is not binding on RTE.