SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) No. 72067424RFI00001
- Notice Date
- 10/10/2023 8:01:25 AM
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- USAID/SOUTH AFRICA PRETORIA ZAF
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- 72067424RFI00001
- Response Due
- 11/7/2023 2:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 11/22/2023
- Point of Contact
- Rachel Modise, Phone: +27124522075, Power Africa, Phone: +27124522075
- E-Mail Address
-
rmodise@usaid.gov, proposals@usaid.gov
(rmodise@usaid.gov, proposals@usaid.gov)
- Description
- A.��������� Program Information Development Problem: Over 200 million people live in Nigeria and its population is projected to be the third most populous country in the world by 2050. The World Bank indicates that 85 million Nigerians (43 percent of the population) don�t have access to electricity, making Nigeria the country with the largest electricity access deficit in sub-Saharan Africa. Even for those that have access to electricity, the reliability and quality of supply is low, resulting in an estimated economic loss of $26 billion annually according to the World Bank[1]. To help address the low level of reliability and quality of supply, businesses and residents have invested in a range of small to medium scale fossil fuel generators with a combined capacity that dwarfs the country�s installed on-grid generation capacity[2]. This self generation with fossil fuel has increased greenhouse gas emissions and resulted in a higher cost of electricity. While efforts have been made to increase access through several initiatives, programs, and the promotion of clean technologies, the triple challenge of providing reliable and high quality electricity supply, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and providing affordable electricity supply to consumers, still persist. These challenges have constrained sustainable development of the country affecting critical sectors of the economy: industrialization, health care, education, agriculture/food security, and economic opportunities. Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Empower Nigeria program is to increase the availability of and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern[3] electricity services in Nigeria. This program will connect more Nigerian homes, businesses, and institutions to electricity on the grid and beyond the grid; reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector by supporting cleaner electricity generation delivered by the grid and accelerating distributed renewable energy (DRE); and, working in partnership with the Government of Nigeria and other institutions to improve the enabling environment for energy sector investment (including climate finance) and innovation. More concretely, Empower Nigeria will seek� to advance the following objectives in Nigeria: Ongrid Sector: To Improve the financial sustainability and flow of energy through the national electricity grid through targeted interventions in the distribution sector and to a secondary degree transmission systems to achieve the following end-state: The majority of Nigerian distribution companies achieve positive cash flows, due to a combination of increasing residential, commercial and industrial sales of energy (MWh), declining ATC&C losses and other turnaround efforts; The Nigerian grid�s peak load regularly exceeds 7,000 MW; 500 MW of grid scale-connected solar reaches financial close (distribution/transmission level including embedded generation); and Discos expand use of demand side management. Given the binding constraint presented by the distribution sector�s insolvency and limited capacity, as well as the transmission sector�s capacity constraints, USAID/Power Africa envisages that Empower Nigeria�s on-grid interventions will focus initially on distribution and transmission, with generation interventions occurring more opportunistically in response to demand shifts. Off-grid: The off-grid sector expands and matures, particularly in peri-urban, rural zones and other areas with limited access to the national grid. Success over the life of the program would be the achievement of the following end-state: 500 mini-grids are commissioned and operating profitably; 2 million off-grid connections established; Increased usage of off-grid systems for productive use; Off-grid companies achieve profitability despite declining subsidies; and Increased availability of international/domestic equity and domestic bank financing for off-grid companies. How the program will advance USAID/Power Africa�s strategic vision and/or project level results: In alignment with USAID/Power Africa Results Framework (see Attachment 3 below), Empower Nigeria program will support efforts to end energy poverty, accelerate a carbon-free future and bolster private sector investments and innovations in the energy sector. This support will be delivered through targeted advisory services, technical assistance, capacity strengthening, catalytic grants, and investment mobilization to a range of energy sector institutions including government ministries, utilities, regulators, private sector energy companies and their trade groups, investors, multilateral organizations and initiatives, academic institutions and/or civil society organizations to achieve programmatic purpose. Preliminary budget: $90 million over five years. This amount could be distributed over multiple awards. Mechanism type(s): USAID/Power Africa is considering awarding multiple mechanisms, to include acquisition and assistance awards. USAID/Power Africa is also considering restricting a portion of the program to local entities, in support of USAID�s Localization Priorities. Award type and number are still under discussion within USAID/Power Africa. Planned Performance Period: Five years (2024 to 2029) Description of the Expected Results (at the Output, Outcome, and Impact levels) to be Achieved: The overall Empower Nigeria program, which could be implemented through multiple awards, will focus on three Development Objectives (DOs) contributing to USAID/Power Africa�s Results Framework. The DO and associated intermediate results are highlighted below. Please see Attachment 3 for detailed description of each DOs. DO1: Ending Energy Poverty Increased number of people with access to reliable, affordable, sustainable and modern electricity services; Strengthened utilities to increase grid connections and improved electricity reliability; Increased productive use of energy (PUE) connections; Increased energy access for marginalized populations; Increased employment opportunities by improving business access to energy; and Enhanced coordination with Interagency, Development and Private Sector partners. DO2: Accelerate a Carbon Free Future Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduced or avoided; Increased power generation from clean sources, as a percentage of total power generation; Reduced electricity losses on the grid; Increased transmission lines and cross-border power trade; and Enhanced coordination with Interagency, Development and Private Sector partners. DO3: Bolster private sector investment and innovation in the energy sector Strengthened enabling environments; Mobilized public or private sector finance for energy projects and businesses; Improved policies and regulations that codify best practices and increase transparency for energy sector investment; Strengthened energy institutions implementing gender equity policies; and Enhanced coordination with Interagency, Development and Private Sector partners. Geographic Focus: Nigeria. USAID/Power Africa envisages the Empower Nigeria program will entail significant in-person field work across the entire country without restriction engaging with stakeholders, executing program activities and interventions. Proposed Top-line Indicators and Targets for the Empower Nigeria Program Indicators Targets MWhs of Energy sold by Nigerian distribution companies, by quarter To be determined, feedback welcomed Net quarterly cash-flows/profits of partner distribution companies To be determined, feedback welcomed Maximum quarterly peak power dispatch through the Nigerian grid 7,000MW Increased electrical power generation capacity (MWs) supported by USG assistance Total - TBD feedback welcomed De-aggregation: solar: 500MW Number of new grid and off-grid actual direct connections A minimum of 2 million offgrid A minimum of 500 mini-grids commissioned 3,000,000 Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, estimated in metric tons of CO2e, reduced, sequestered, or avoided through clean energy as supported by USG assistance Note: one driver of this, in addition to new clean energy generation projects, could include emissions mitigated by transitioning households and businesses from fossil fuel powered generations to reliable national grid supply. 14 Million tons Number of productive-use off-grid devices or systems sold as a result of USG/Power Africa assistance 40,000 Total length of Power Africa supported transmission lines� 1,500 km Public and private sector funds leveraged for energy sector projects (both on-grid and beyond-the-grid) $5.9 Billion Number of institutions adopting policies or procedures to promote gender equity in the clean energy sector workforce as a result of Power Africa support To be determined, feedback welcomed Aggregate technical, commercial and collection electricity losses reduced and/or avoided among Power Africa supported utilities To be determined, feedback welcomed B.���������� Questions for Interested Parties Questions have been grouped into thematic/technical areas for ease and targeted responses. Response to all questions is not required. Please only respond to questions that seem relevant or of interest to you or your organization. In all sections highlighted below, USAID/Power Africa is considering offering its technical assistance and transaction advisory support including technical engineering services, legal support, direct grant to private sector partners and purchase of commodities under grant to the Nigeria electricity supply industry to increase availability and access to electricity. Offgrid: Nigeria's offgrid sector has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years bringing first time access to millions of people. Despite the success achieved, more is still required. Beyond the indicators and targets in section A9 above, USAID/Power Africa is increasingly interested in increasing the number of minigrids commissioned, increased usage of off-grid systems for productive use, increased off-grid companies achieving profitability with high customer satisfaction despite declining subsidies and increased availability of international/domestic equity and debt financing for off-grid companies. What types of support are most needed in the off-grid energy sector that USAID/Power Africa can provide that other donor partners are not currently providing? What are some of the key challenges to scaling off-grid access that USAID/Power Africa should consider in the design of Empower Nigeria? Does your company or organization have experience or expertise in providing business advisory services, technical engineering consultancy services, legal support and/or other types of capacity building/technical/advisory services in the off-grid energy sector in Nigeria? If so, can you please describe it and provide examples? Distribution: Nigeria's electricity distribution sector faces critical challenges of providing consistent and reliable power supply amidst aging infrastructure, high technical and non-technical losses, stagnant energy demand, unpredictable power supply, low meter penetration and financial insolvencies. The resultant erratic power supply hinders socio-economic growth, strains consumer trust, and poses significant barriers to the nation's developmental aspirations. Comprehensive strategies involving public-private collaboration and innovative solutions are essential to address this multifaceted problem. Beyond the targets and indicators specified in section A9 above, USAID/Power Africa is increasingly interested in improving positive cash flow of the distribution companies resulting from growing electricity consumption that is billed and collected. USAID/Power Africa is also interested in increasing renewable embedded generation within the distribution network. What activities, programs and/or interventions should USAID/Power Africa consider in the Empower Nigeria program to Increase the distribution operational capacity; Reduce aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses, and improve revenue; Improve the quality and quantity of supply and system reliability of the distribution network; Unlock both public and private investment in the Distribution network; and Use electricity optimally at the end user side including load management, demand response and energy efficiency. What interventions should Empower Nigeria consider to increase the adoption of embedded generation including distributed renewable energy within the distribution network? What are the challenges to covering the metering gap and what interventions would you suggest USAID/Power Africa should consider? Transmission: The transmission network and associated operation infrastructure capacity in Nigeria is severely constrained. Considering the geographic area of Nigeria, the coverage of high voltage lines and the transformation capacity are insufficient to take onboard new diverse generation capacity including large scale renewables. Hence, several bottlenecks exist on the grid that limit evacuation of all existing installed generation capacity, the potential for new capacity, and stabilizing the grid. USAID/Power Africa intends to support this critical aspect of the electricity supply chain. What are the challenges limiting the scaling up of transmission infrastructure in Nigeria that USAID/Power Africa is best positioned to solve alongside its partners. What activities, programs and/or interventions should USAID/Power Africa consider in the Empower Nigeria program to Improve the reliability, efficiency, availability and operation of the transmission infrastructure; Unlock additional capacity and optimization of the existing transmission network; and Unlock both public and private investment capital to plan and build new transmission infrastructure. Generation: Nigeria�s power generation sector consists of a mix of public and privately-owned privatized generation companies with a notional capacity of 13,462 MW. However, Nigeria has never dispatched more than 5,500 MW at one time and daily maximum load has rarely exceeded 4,000 MW in 2023. Transmission and distribution system limitations, as noted above, are a binding constraint for expanding generation output. Gas supply issues (the generation sector is 80% gas-fired) and maintenance outages also routinely constrain the availability of individual assets. Nigeria has ambitions to increase generation capacity to 30,000 MWs by 2030 including 30% from renewable energy resources, but has not added any significant new assets to the grid since 2018; private investor interest has been constrained by off-take concerns and the Nigerian government�s reluctance to offer take or pay power purchase agreements or sovereign guarantees. However, the passage of the 2023 Electricity Act, which decentralizes some aspects of power sector regulation to state governments and regulator efforts to encourage investments in distributed generation at the distribution level are creating new opportunities for new generation investments. What activities, programs and/or interventions should USAID/Power Africa consider in the Empower Nigeria program to: Increase the utilization of existing grid-connected generating assets (gas and hydro); Support the financial close and commission of smaller-scale embedded generation projects including distributed renewable energy that supply power directly to distribution companies with unmet demand; and Support the financial close and commissioning of grid-connected clean energy generation projects. Technical System-wide Support: Each of the technical segments of the electricity supply chain is not designed to work in isolation of the other, hence, there are interdependencies that if unresolved could limit achievement of impactful results in the power sector. What are interventions that are system wide or that do not fit into a specific technical area that USAID/Power Africa should consider in the Empower Nigeria program? How can Empower Nigeria enhance system-wide integration and interoperability of the Nigerian power system? What technical engineering consultancy service(s) is relevant to the Nigerian Power Sector? If your company offers such service(s) please indicate with examples or list companies that offer such services. Enabling Environment and Cross Cutting: Enabling environment issues and interventions cut across several technical and non-technical aspects of the electricity supply chain. What activities, programs and/or interventions should USAID/Power Africa consider in the Empower Nigeria program to Strengthen governance, policy, legal and regulatory environment; Improve system-level planning; and Improve visibility of the grid (data) across monitoring platforms. How should Empower Nigeria improve upon USAID/Power Africa gender and inclusion related activities and what new interventions should be considered for more impactful sector related results? Is there anything else you would like to share or you feel USAID/Power Africa should consider when developing the Empower Nigeria Program and other activities in Nigeria in turning around the electricity supply industry? Staffing: USAID/Power Africa envisions that the project COP and DCOP Technical must have significant electric utility management experience to potentially include the following profiles: COP - Significant management experience (including significant experience in electricity distribution and transmission system management) on relevant projects in the power sector. DOP Technical - Significant management experience in electricity utility management; engineering degree. Note: Smaller local awards, especially any focusing outside of the on-grid power sector, may not need these specific profiles; however USAID does envision that each activity should have staffing with significant prior operating experience in the relevant power sector intervention area. ����������������������������������������������������������������������� Attachment 2 - Direct Local Award Focused Programming Localization: USAID is advancing locally-led development by shifting powers to local actors in shaping the design of its programs. As part of this effort on localization, we anticipate awarding one or multiple awards directly to local prime partners[4] with activities that align with the stated Development Objectives, results and target as part of the Empower Nigeria program. � What aspects of the power sector related technical assistance and transaction advisory interventions could USAID/Power Africa consider for local awards? It would be helpful for recommendations to mention the benefits that local implementing partners would offer in a given power sector intervention area, in terms of understanding of local political and economic context, a history of demonstrated local capacity and/or cost considerations. If you provide such services in Nigeria, please indicate and provide examples (including a brief description of the technical work performed and the size of budget managed); and If you don�t provide any of such services could you recommend companies in Nigeria that provide such services and a brief overview of the technical work performed and the size of budget managed). USAID/Power Africa is considering its offgrid programming in Nigeria as a possible direct award to a local prime, what feedback do you have for Power Africa? Please suggest companies in Nigeria that offer offgrid sector technical assistance and transaction advisory services and examples of specific services offered to the sector. USAID/Power Africa is also considering training programs for energy sector professionals and/or off-grid firms as a possible direct award to a local prime, what feedback do you have for Power Africa? Please suggest companies in Nigeria that have the capacity to design and deliver large-scale and technical power sector training programs in Nigeria. We encourage responses even if your company doesn't fully meet the USAID definition of localization. Feel free to include a brief (1-2 pages) Statement of Interest if your company or organization might be interested in working with Power Africa on relevant sector services. Attachment 3 - Future USAID/Power Africa Key Priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa Power Africa Background: The goal of USAID/Power Africa is to advance sub-Saharan Africa�s development through universal access to clean energy by 2030. Launched in 2013, Power Africa is a U.S. Government-led partnership managed by USAID that brings together the collective resources of 12 U.S. Government agencies, 20 development partners, key African counterparts, and over 170 private sector partners to address mutual development objectives through a vibrant and sustainable energy sector. For information about USAID/Power Africa, please refer to the Power Africa web page.� Planned Future Priorities and Expected Results Objective 1 - Ending Energy Poverty Ending energy poverty for households, businesses, public institutions and marginalized communities requires the legal connection of new end-users to a source of electricity, for example through grid densification, grid extension, customer regularization, and off-grid solutions. As access to electricity becomes increasingly available, it provides the opportunity to promote increased productive use applications, such as improved agricultural, health, economic growth, educational, and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) outcomes.� For on-grid solutions, it is critical to strengthen utility performance to ensure that new grid connections supply sustained quality power to customers that does not compound financial losses, erode customer confidence or fail to align with a government�s efforts to strengthen the power sector. Countries' capacities to achieve lasting financially viable power sectors for on-grid connections requires significant improvement in the technical and commercial performance of distribution utilities. It is therefore necessary to consider innovative management and technology-driven solutions to help improve utilities� performance. Beyond the grid solutions are a critical approach for connecting customers to electricity where it is not yet, or may never be, cost-effective to extend the grid. Off-grid solutions run the gamut from mini-grids to standalone solar home systems (or a combination of these), and mid-sized solutions that could be viable for weak-grid customers. The sector must continue to better integrate productive uses, demand stimulation and bundled projects into mini-grid models to ensure financial sustainability.� Illustrative Results: Increased access to electricity Increased consumer electricity usage/demand (both household and productive use) Increased number of public facilities and private businesses using modern energy services Increased number of productive users with access to electricity Objective 2 - Accelerating a Carbon Free Future Reducing the carbon emissions from the power sector requires a combination of increasing utility scale renewable energy generation and delivering that cleaner power to more homes and businesses, ideally displacing reliance on fossil fuel generators. Due to limited grid availability in more rural areas, distributed renewable energy and other innovative power service delivery options can complement power delivered from a central grid. To increase renewable energy capacity, system planners should engage in long term strategic planning for increased renewables integration into their grids (including Just Energy Transitions), including target setting, more favorable regulations, and support to run competitive procurements. Independent power producers need support to bring new generation projects to financial close and construction. Transmission and distribution systems, and the utilities and people that manage them, need to be expanded and strengthened to handle the increased variability of renewable energy, reduce technical and financial losses, and trade power across countries and borders. Illustrative Results: Increased number of MW of clean energy generation reaching financial close Increased number of KM of transmission or distribution lines constructed or rehabilitated Reduced Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) distribution losses Increased MWh of power trade Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduced or avoided Objective 3 - Bolstering Private Sector Investment & Innovation in the Energy Sector Increased investment in the energy sector can flourish with a supportive enabling environment that offers transparent, consistent and aligned policies and regulations. Though power sector challenges abound, it has given rise to opportunities for increased private sector investment. These opportunities include investment for on- and off-grid companies, local manufacturing of energy equipment, private finance for transmission, deployment of new technologies (smart meters, smart grids, battery energy storage systems, etc), and novel payment schemes. Illustrative Results: Public and private sector funds leveraged for energy sector projects (both on-grid and beyond-the-grid) Number of energy sector laws, policies, strategies, plans adopted or advanced New technologies and business models deployed Number of institutions adopting policies or procedures to promote gender equity in the clean energy sector workforce as a result of Power Africa support [1] World Bank 2021, Nigeria to improve electricity access and services to citizens [2] A2EI, 2019, Putting an end to Nigeria�s generators crisis: The path forward [3] The majority of programming will be clean energy; however, this language allows flexibility if Power Africa is allocated Modern Energy Services funding in the future. [4] The definition of a local entity found in USAID�s ADS 303 provides more detail on the types of local development actors with which we seek to partner: �A local entity means an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that�is legally organized under the laws of; has as its principal place of business or operations in; is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of; and managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of a country receiving assistance from funds appropriated under title III of this Act.�
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