The Mining Remediation Authority has awarded a contract for a power connection upgrade at Sharnberry Mine Water Treatment Scheme worth an estimated £579,239.63 (ex VAT) in total.

The contract covers the extension and upgrade the current electrical network from Egglestone Middle end along the B6278 highway boundary, to the boundary of the Egglestone Estate access track, where it is

proposed to terminate in readiness for the second phase of the power connection works.

The contract has been awarded without prior publication of a call for competition

A voluntary ex ante transparency notice issued by the MRA explained that the requirement includes a mixture of works some of which cannot be procured from sources other than Northern Powergrid owing to the nature and structure of the power market in the UK and others, which may be available on the open market albeit with additional costs of supervision and governance .

“To separate the two requirements would make it highly likely that significant delay to the programme for this project would be experienced as well as additional whole life costs related to the supervision and assurance of compliance for this work and additional requirements for managing the safety and standards of the work”, the MRA said.