Provision of Consultancy Support to the CRU’s Customer Care Team (CCT) Dispute Resolution Function

Commission for Regulation of Utilities

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (“CRU”) is Ireland’s independent energy and water regulator. Our work impacts Irish homes and businesses ensuring safe, secure and sustainable energy and water supplies for all customers. The CRU’s mission is to protect the public interest in Water, Energy and Energy Safety. The CRU is guided by four strategic priorities that sit alongside the core activities we undertake to deliver on the public interest. These are: • Ensure security of supply • Drive a low carbon future • Empower and protect customers • Enable our people and organisational capacity Further information on the CRU’s role and relevant legislation can be found on the CRU’s website at www.cru.ie The Customer Care Team (CCT) sits in the Customer Policy and Protection, Legal division of the CRU. The team is responsible for delivering two key statutory functions for the CRU: • Providing the commission’s dispute resolution service for unresolved disputes between final customers and service providers. This obligation is set out in Section 7 of S.I. No. 463 of 2011 and Section 8 of the Water Services Act 2014. • Acting as a single point of contact to provide final customers with necessary information concerning their statutory rights in relation to engaging with energy undertakings and obligations of said undertakings, among other things. This obligation is set out in full in Section 8 of S.I. No. 463 of 2011. The CCT requires the specialist external support to assist in the investigation of complaint cases and to assist the team in reducing the current backlog. The successful tenderer should ideally be available to start immediately on the conclusion of this competition (currently estimated as late October 2023), providing two days of support per week for a minimum of 12 months. There is an option to extend these services by six months on two occasions (i.e., maximum 24 month contract), at the discretion of the CRU and with the agreement of the successful tenderer. The successful tenderer will have access to the CCT’s CRM system (Microsoft Dynamics). Through this system they will be assigned cases for investigation. The CCT usually investigate cases in the order in which they joined the queue for investigation. However, depending on the experience of the successful tenderer, specific cases may be directed to them for investigation. They will be expected to manage a caseload of between five and ten complaint cases at a time. Key activities involved in investigating a case will include: • Analysing information provided by the customer and relevant provider(s), and engaging with either party to ascertain additional information if relevant. • Drafting proposed decisions that summarise key facts of the case and the CRU’s proposed determination. • Liaising with the appointed CRU investigating officer to agree proposed decision (to uphold or not uphold the case, and any proposed compensation) for cases as appropriate. • Drafting final decisions taking any further comments received into account. • Using the CCT’s case management system to record case documentation in line with team procedures

Deadline

The time limit for receipt of tenders was 2023-10-03. The procurement was published on 2023-08-29.

Who? What? Where?
Procurement history
Date Document
2023-08-29 Contract notice
Contract notice (2023-08-29)
Object
Scope of the procurement
Title: Technical analysis or consultancy services
Short description:
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (“CRU”) is Ireland’s independent energy and water regulator. Our work impacts Irish homes and businesses ensuring safe, secure and sustainable energy and water supplies for all customers. The CRU’s mission is to protect the public interest in Water, Energy and Energy Safety. The CRU is guided by four strategic priorities that sit alongside the core activities we undertake to deliver on the public interest. These are: • Ensure security of supply • Drive a low carbon future • Empower and protect customers • Enable our people and organisational capacity Further information on the CRU’s role and relevant legislation can be found on the CRU’s website at www.cru.ie The Customer Care Team (CCT) sits in the Customer Policy and Protection, Legal division of the CRU. The team is responsible for delivering two key statutory functions for the CRU: • Providing the commission’s dispute resolution service for unresolved disputes between final customers and service providers. This obligation is set out in Section 7 of S.I. No. 463 of 2011 and Section 8 of the Water Services Act 2014. • Acting as a single point of contact to provide final customers with necessary information concerning their statutory rights in relation to engaging with energy undertakings and obligations of said undertakings, among other things. This obligation is set out in full in Section 8 of S.I. No. 463 of 2011. The CCT requires the specialist external support to assist in the investigation of complaint cases and to assist the team in reducing the current backlog. The successful tenderer should ideally be available to start immediately on the conclusion of this competition (currently estimated as late October 2023), providing two days of support per week for a minimum of 12 months. There is an option to extend these services by six months on two occasions (i.e., maximum 24 month contract), at the discretion of the CRU and with the agreement of the successful tenderer. The successful tenderer will have access to the CCT’s CRM system (Microsoft Dynamics). Through this system they will be assigned cases for investigation. The CCT usually investigate cases in the order in which they joined the queue for investigation. However, depending on the experience of the successful tenderer, specific cases may be directed to them for investigation. They will be expected to manage a caseload of between five and ten complaint cases at a time. Key activities involved in investigating a case will include: • Analysing information provided by the customer and relevant provider(s), and engaging with either party to ascertain additional information if relevant. • Drafting proposed decisions that summarise key facts of the case and the CRU’s proposed determination. • Liaising with the appointed CRU investigating officer to agree proposed decision (to uphold or not uphold the case, and any proposed compensation) for cases as appropriate. • Drafting final decisions taking any further comments received into account. • Using the CCT’s case management system to record case documentation in line with team procedures
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Notice metadata
Original language: English 🗣️
Document type: Contract notice
Nature of contract: Services
Regulation: European Union, with participation of GPA countries
Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)
Code: Technical analysis or consultancy services 📦
Additional CPV: Financial consultancy, financial transaction processing and clearing-house services 📦
Place of performance
NUTS region: Éire/Ireland 🏙️

Procedure
Procedure type: Open procedure
Type of bid: Submission for all lots
Award criteria
The most economic tender

Contracting authority
Identity
Country: Ireland 🇮🇪
Awarding authority type: Body governed by public law
Awarding authority name: Commission for Regulation of Utilities
Postal address: The Exchange, Belgard Sq North, Tallaght
Postal code: D24 PXW0
Postal town: Dublin
Contact
Internet address: https://www.etenders.gov.ie 🌏
E-mail: procurement@cru.ie 📧
Phone: +353 14000800 📞
URL for documents: https://www.etenders.gov.ie/ 🌏
URL for participation: https://www.etenders.gov.ie/ 🌏

Reference
Dates
Date dispatched: 2023-08-29 📅
Submission deadline: 2023-10-03 📅
Publication date: 2023-09-01 📅
Identifiers
Notice number: 2023/S 168-527164
OJ-S issue: 168
Additional information
As stated in procurement documents available to download from www.etenders.gov.ie using Resources ID CFT 2297487.

Object
Scope of the procurement
Estimated total value: 233 000 EUR 💰
Estimated value excluding VAT: 233 000 EUR 💰
Duration: 12 months
Description of renewals:
The contract will be awarded for a twelve (12) month period with the option to extend for a further six (6) month period with a maximum of 2 such extensions.
Description of options:
The contract will be awarded for a twelve (12) month period with the option to extend for a further six (6) month period with a maximum of 2 such extensions.
Additional information:
As stated in procurement documents available to download from www.etenders.gov.ie using Resources ID CFT 2297487.
Place of performance
Main site or place of performance: Dublin

Legal, economic, financial and technical information
Conditions for participation
Suitability to pursue the professional activity:
As stated in procurement documents available to download from www.etenders.gov.ie using Resources ID CFT 2297487.
Contract execution
Contract performance conditions:
As stated in procurement documents available to download from www.etenders.gov.ie using Resources ID CFT 2297487.

Procedure
Legal basis: 32014L0024
Time of receipt of tenders: 12:00
Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted: English 🗣️
Tender validity period: 24 months
Tender opening date: 2023-10-03 📅
Tender opening time: 12:30
Award criteria
Quality criterion (name): Quality of Approach to Service Delivery
Quality criterion (weighting): 40
Quality criterion (name): Technical Merit of Proposed Resources
Quality criterion (weighting): 30
Cost criterion (name): Cost
Cost criterion (weighting): 30

Contracting authority
Contact
Contact point: Katarina Holohan
Address of the buyer profile: https://www.etenders.gov.ie 🌏
Documents URL: https://www.etenders.gov.ie/ 🌏
Internet address: https://www.etenders.gov.ie/ 🌏

Complementary information
Review body
Name: The High Court
Postal address: Inns Quay
Postal town: Dublin
Postal code: 7
Country: Ireland 🇮🇪
E-mail: highcourtcentraloffice@courts.ie 📧
Internet address: https://www.courts.ie/ 🌏
Source: OJS 2023/S 168-527164 (2023-08-29)
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