Change Control Authority for National Smart Meter Programme

Tender description

The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) is Ireland’s independent energy and water regulator. The CER was established in 1999 and now has a wide range of economic, customer protection and safety responsibilities in energy. The CER is also the regulator of Ireland’s public water and wastewater system. The CER requires expert consultancy support as part of the National Smart Metering Programme (NSMP) in order to deliver the function of Change Control Authority. The CER, working closely with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR), established the Smart Metering Programme which commenced with Phase 1 in 2008. Phase 2 (Requirements Definition) of the National Smart Metering Programme commenced in February 2013. The purpose of the Change Authority (CA) is to provide advice to the NSMP Project Managers Implementation Group (PMIG) when changes to agreed scope and/or programme timelines are being considered. The CA will review proposed changes with a view to identifying what form of impact assessment is required. The CA will be responsible for scheduling the required impact assessment and collating the responses. This service is also to be available to work streams. All changes to baselined scope are subject to the Change Authority process including those proposed by the SIIG, Department of Communications Energy & Natural Resources (DCENR) or the CER. The Change Authority operates in an advisory capacity and holds no decision making powers. Following a decision on the High Level Design and the progression to the detailed design phase the CER requires expert consultancy support (the ‘Support’) in order to deliver the function of the Change Authority within the NSMP. A detailed scope of this requirement is set out in Section 2 of the Invitation to tender (ITT) document available to download from the contract notice page on www.etenders.gov.ie