£126,000 of additional value recovered following grid connection delays
Civil Engineering Contractor | Onshore Wind Farm Project
KEY DETAILS
CLIENT TYPE
Civil engineering contractor
SECTOR
Onshore wind farm infrastructure
PROJECT SCOPE
Balance of plant works
CONTRACT SUM
£14 million
FORM OF CONTRACT
FIDIC yellow book, 1st edition 1999
COMMERCIAL ISSUE
Grid connection delay, Extension of Time and cost entitlement
ADDITIONAL VALUE RECOVERED
£126,000
PRIMARY SERVICE AREAS
Contractual Risk & Entitlement Strategy; Margin Protection & Revenue Recovery; Commercial Troubleshooting & Intervention
Introduction
A civil engineering contractor delivering Balance of Plant works on a major onshore wind farm experienced significant delays caused by late grid connection works.
The developer maintained that the delays were entirely outside its control and argued that the contractor had no entitlement to either an Extension of Time or additional payment.
Roxburgh Murray carried out a forensic review of the Conditions of Contract and established that the delays were attributable to a Relevant Contractor engaged in connection with the project.
This changed the contractual position and enabled the contractor to secure an Extension of Time together with £126,000 of additional commercial value.
The situation
The contractor was delivering Balance of Plant works on an onshore wind farm project.
During delivery, late grid connection works caused significant delay to completion.
The contractor required additional time and sought recovery of the associated commercial impact. However, the developer maintained that the delays were caused entirely by authorities and were therefore outside the developer’s responsibility.
Under that interpretation, the contractor would have had no entitlement to an extension to the Time for Completion, additional payment or recovery of the costs caused by the delay.
The contractor therefore faced a significant commercial risk and needed a detailed review of the contract to establish whether the developer’s position was correct.
The commercial risk
If the developer’s interpretation had been accepted, the contractor would have carried the full financial impact of the grid connection delays.
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No Extension of Time
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No recovery of delay-related costs
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Increased exposure to completion risk
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Reduced commercial value
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A weaker final account position
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Pressure on project cashflow
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Responsibility for events outside the contractor’s control
The issue was not simply that the project had been delayed.
The critical question was how the contract allocated responsibility for that delay and whether the contractor had a valid route to recover both time and money.
Roxburgh Murray’s review
Roxburgh Murray undertook a forensic review of the FIDIC Conditions of Contract.
The review focused on the cause of the grid connection delay and whether the developer’s interpretation accurately reflected the contractual position.
Roxburgh Murray established that the delay was attributable to a Relevant Contractor engaged in connection with the project.
This was a critical distinction.
Rather than the delay being treated solely as an authority issue with no route to recovery, the contractual analysis demonstrated that the contractor had entitlement arising from the involvement of another project contractor.
This enabled the contractor to establish a clear basis for both additional time and associated commercial recovery.
The Roxburgh Murray approach
Roxburgh Murray helped the contractor challenge the initial interpretation and establish a stronger contract-led position.
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Reviewing the relevant FIDIC contract provisions
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Analysing the cause of the grid connection delay
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Testing the developer’s interpretation against the contract
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Identifying the role of the Relevant Contractor
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Establishing entitlement to an Extension of Time
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Establishing entitlement to associated cost recovery
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Preparing the contractual basis for the contractor’s position
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Supporting the contractor through the agreement process
The value came from identifying that the delay had been categorised incorrectly.
Once the correct contractual position was established, the contractor was able to pursue both time and financial entitlement from a much stronger position.
The outcome
The contractor’s entitlement was successfully agreed.
The outcome included an Extension of Time and £126,000 of additional value recovered.
This protected the contractor from absorbing the full financial impact of the grid connection delay and strengthened the overall project position.
What this shows
This case demonstrates why delay entitlement should never be accepted or rejected at face value.
The way a delay is described can materially affect whether a contractor is entitled to recover time, money or both.
In this case, the developer’s initial position would have left the contractor with no recovery. Roxburgh Murray’s forensic contract review showed that the delay was attributable to a Relevant Contractor and therefore created a valid route to entitlement.
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Challenge the initial interpretation
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Identify the correct contractual cause
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Establish entitlement to additional time
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Recover additional commercial value
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Avoid carrying the cost of events outside its control
The director-level lesson is clear:
Delay recovery depends on how responsibility is allocated under the contract. A detailed review can uncover entitlement that may otherwise be dismissed or missed.
Why it matters to construction leaders
Delay has consequences far beyond the programme.
It can affect labour, plant, supervision, preliminaries, productivity, subcontractor costs, cashflow and final account position.
If a contractor accepts the wrong interpretation of responsibility, it may carry substantial cost without recovery.
For directors and commercial leaders, this case highlights the importance of asking:
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What is the true cause of the delay?
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Who carries the risk under the contract?
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Is the contractor entitled to time, money or both?
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Has the delay been categorised correctly?
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Is the business at risk of absorbing costs it should recover?
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Has the commercial impact been properly evidenced?
Roxburgh Murray helps clients answer those questions before entitlement is lost or the opposing position becomes established.
Related services
Roxburgh Murray reviews contracts through a commercial lens, identifying risk allocation, entitlement routes and interpretation points that may materially affect project outcomes.
Roxburgh Murray helps clients recover the additional value created by delay, disruption, change and other compensable events.
When a live project issue needs urgent review, Roxburgh Murray provides focused support to clarify the position, control risk and create a practical route forward.
Is a delay issue putting project value at risk?
If a delay, disruption event or Extension of Time claim is being challenged, the first step is to understand what the contract actually says about responsibility and entitlement. Roxburgh Murray can review the position, assess time and cost recovery, and help you establish the strongest commercial route forward.