USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22209-2131

B -- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR REGIONAL ELECTRIC UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE: ELEKTRA NORESTE, SA IN PANAMA DUE 011000 POC Evangela Kunene, USTDA, 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax: (703) 875-4009 Elektra Noreste, SA invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop Technical Assistance to produce a substantive engineering and design study that would provide Elektra Noreste, SA with an information technology and application strategy that includes the implementation of SCADA and Distribution Automtaion systems. Elektra Noreste, S.A. emerged from the privatization efforts as the second largest electric utility company in Panam . Elektra Noreste's service area includes eastern Panam, the eastern part of Panam City, and the Colon distribution area, or Free Trade Zone. Constellation Power, a member of Constellation Energy group, is an investor partner in Elektra Noreste, SA. Although privatization has been praised throughout the world for its increase in efficiency in the power sector, with the recent privatization efforts in Panama, new problems have emerged for the electric utilities in Panam . Most of the systems are experiencing high losses and transformers and primary feeders are at their limit. In addition, monitoring and control capabilities are severely limited. The only control facility available is the National Control Center of the Interconnected System which manages power supply, not distribution. And this facility will be removed from service during the first quarter of 2001. The lack of control systems leads to outages, capacity limitations and overall low power quality in Panama and Elektra Noreste has suffered from these external factors. As with the entire electric utility sector in Panam, privatization has brought new ownership and a new approach to managing Elektra Noreste. While privatization has had a positive impact on the electric utility sector, major problems still exist and the most important problem facing Elektra Noreste today is their extremely high systems losses, estimated at 19.3%. In addition, the transformers and primary feeders are at the limit of their carrying capability. Essentially, the company is losing power while operating at capacity. Moreover, the former system of monitoring and control is no longer sufficient in the newly privatized environment in Panam . Elektra Noreste indicates that the majority of their operating problems stem from the lack of SCADA and Distribution Automation systems. Therefore, Elektra Noreste, SA, through the grant from TDA, intends to develop an Information Technology Infrastructure and Application strategy that include the implementation of SCADA and Distribution Automation systems. The primary purpose of the Technical Assistance would be to develop an engineering plan that would lead to the immediate implementation and installation of equipment and systems that are desperately needed for the newly privatized utility and reduce its losses and increase its efficiency. The Technical Assistance for Elektra Noreste, SA will cover four functional areas and seven broad based tasks as part of thefinal TOR. Task 1 consists of Advanced Applications for a SCADA system. Task 2 consists of a Distribution Automation system and SCADA Implementation and Equipment. Task 3 consists of Geographical Information Systems, AM/FM Mapping. Task 4 consists of Recommendations for Automated Meter Reading Systems. Task 5 entails Telecommunications Infrastructure. Task 6 consists of an evaluation of the state of Information Technology Infrastructure. Task 7 involves the final reporting requirements for completion of the TA. The intent of the Technical Assistance is to develop an engineering plan that establishes the immediate implementation and the installation of equipment and systems that will be mandated by spring of 2001 but are urgently needed now. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $300,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). The total cost of the Technical Assistance is estimated at U.S. $430,000. Elektra Noreste will provide partial cost sharing for the Technical Assistance to cover 20%, or $86,000. The Contractor and/or its subcontractors must cover the remaining costs, or U.S. $44,000, to complete the full Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Technical Assistance. A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background desk study report are available from TDA, at 1621 N. Kent Street, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209-2131. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want TDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail room before calling TDA. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the TDA grant amount. Details of TDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in Spanish and English directly to the Grantee by 5:00 p.m. on January 10, 2000 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals.****** Posted 12/03/99 (W-SN405691). (0337)

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