Tender for Switchgear by Westfalen Weser Netz GmbH, Germany

Project Title: Manufacture, delivery, and installation of an air-insulated 20 kV switchgear system at the Benteler substation

Procurement Reference: 2026-02-WWN

Project Overview: Provision of a complete air-insulated 20 kV switchgear system, including manufacture, delivery, installation, and commissioning, for the Benteler substation located in Herford, Germany. The equipment must comply with specific technical standards such as IEC 62271-200 (LSC 2B, PM, IAC A FLR 20kA 1s).

Procurement Type: Competitive Negotiation (with prior notice).

Nature of Contract: Supply of Goods.

CPV Code: 31214000 (Switchgear).

Material Specifications:

Technical Specification: Must strictly comply with IEC 62271-200 standard.

Safety Class: Achieve Availability Class LSC 2B and Partition Class PM.

Arc Fault Protection: Must be IAC A FLR certified with a withstand capability of 20 kA / 1 second.

Scope of Delivery:

Switchgear Assembly: Includes a complete set of components such as circuit breakers, disconnectors, earthing switches, instrument transformers, protection relays, control and monitoring units, etc.

Auxiliary Systems: Includes cabinet lighting, heaters, ventilation, secondary wiring, etc.

Connections and Accessories: Provision of busbars, cable terminations, brackets, fasteners, etc., required for connection to the existing substation systems.

Documentation and Drawings: Must provide a full set of German-language design drawings, calculations, installation manuals, operation and maintenance instructions, and digital documentation based on Engineering Base and AutoCAD.

Place of Contract Performance: Herford, Germany (Bielefelder Straße 3, 32051).

Estimated Contract Duration: From May 1, 2027 to August 31, 2027.

Suitable for SMEs: No. The contracting authority explicitly states that this project is not suitable for participation by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Subject to WTO GPA: Yes.

Key Technical Requirements:

Equipment must be based on IEC 62271-200 standard.

Must provide at least 3 reference projects completed within the last 5 years for European grid operators or German heavy industry clients, each involving at least 8 feeder bays.

The bidder must possess, or have access to via partners/subcontractors with relevant expertise, production facilities.

Commercial and Compliance Requirements:

Language: All communication, documents, drawings (including those using Engineering Base and AutoCAD), and key project interface personnel must use fluent German.

Service: After contract award, German-language after-sales service with 365 days/year, 8-hour on-site response must be provided.

Insurance: Must provide professional liability insurance meeting minimum coverage requirements.

Bond: Must provide an advance payment bond and a performance bond equivalent to 5% of the contract value (can be issued by a bank, credit insurer, or group guarantee within the EU).

Sanctions Compliance: Must submit a declaration regarding compliance with EU sanctions regulations related to Russia.

Important Deadlines:

Deadline for Requesting Clarifications: March 3, 2026, 23:59 (for pre-qualification stage).

Deadline for Submitting Applications to Participate: March 12, 2026, 12:00 (CET).

Estimated Date for Issuing Tender Invitations: March 23, 2026.

(Planned) Deadline for Submitting Tenders: April 14, 2026.

(Planned) Contract Negotiations: April 21 to 23, 2026.

Tender Document Access and Submission:

Official Language: German.

Document Access Address: German Tender Portal (https://www.dtvp.de).

Electronic Submission: Must be submitted online via the aforementioned portal.

Other Key Information:

Questions raised by bidders and their answers will be shared anonymously (with the questioner's information removed) with all participants.

Alternative solutions (variant bids) are not accepted.

The contracting authority reserves the right to supervise production progress and quality at the manufacturer's factory.