FINAL RFP_Empower West Africa (1).pdf

RFP Number: 72067424R00002 RFP Title: Empower Western Africa (EWA) RFP Issuance Date: Thursday, January 11, 2024 Questions Due Date and Time: Thursday, January 25, 2024, 6:00pm EST Closing Date and Time for Receipt of Proposals: Monday, February 12, 2024, 6:00pm EST

To All Prospective Offerors:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) anticipates awarding one Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) completion contract with an estimated period of performance of five (5) years for the implementation of the Empower West Africa (EWA) activity. Subject to availability of funds, the estimated cost range for this contract is between $68,000,000 - $75,000,000.

The procurement will be conducted through full and open competition, under which any type of organization (large or small commercial [for profit] firms, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations) is eligible to compete. The procedures set forth in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15 apply. The competition will utilize a Highest Technically Rated with Fair and Reasonable Price and Realistic Cost (HTR) process, not a tradeoff process. In this process, USAID is concerned with getting the best technical solution that has a fair and reasonable price and realistic cost. There will not be a tradeoff to justify paying a premium for a higher technical rated proposal.

Section L of the RFP sets forth all instructions for the preparation and submission of required proposal content, including critical dates/times for the submission of questions, and the proposal submission closing date and time. Section M states the criteria by which proposals will be evaluated.

Any questions related to this RFP must be submitted by email to proposals@usaid.gov with a copy to Aristide Horugavye at ahorugavye@usaid.gov by the time and date specified above. No questions will be accepted after the date and time stated above.

This RFP can be viewed and downloaded from https://sam.gov/content/home. USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. Further, be aware that amendments to solicitations are occasionally issued and will be posted on the same website from which you downloaded the solicitation. USAID advises to regularly check the above website for amendments.

The principal geographic code for this contract is 935. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this activity is 541690 Other Scientific and Consulting Services. Under 13 CFR 121.201, the U.S. Small Business size standard is $19M of annual receipts.

mailto:proposals@usaid.gov mailto:ahorugavye@usaid.gov https://sam.gov/content/home

RFP No. 72067424R00002

Issuance of this solicitation does not in any way obligate the U.S. Government to award a contract nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal. Award of a contract under this RFP is subject to availability of funds and other internal USAID approvals. Furthermore, the Government reserves the right to reject any and all offers, if such action is considered to be in the best interest of the U.S. Government. USAID reserves the right to award this contract without discussions.

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Sincerely, Nancy Kleinhans Contracting Officer

72067424R00002

SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD

4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION2. CONTRACT NUMBER 3. SOLICITATION NUMBER

7. ISSUED BY CODE 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7)

ORDER UNDER DPAS (15 CFR 700)

6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NUMBER

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

NEGOTIATED (RFP)

SEALED BID (IFB)

5. DATE ISSUED

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(Date)(Hour) local timeuntildepository located in copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in Item 8, or if hand carried, in the

SOLICITATION

9. Sealed offers in original and

PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

INSTRS., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

CONTRACT CLAUSES

PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACH.

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CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

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SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

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PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSESPART I - THE SCHEDULE

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16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER15A. NAME

DATEAMENDMENT NO.DATEAMENDMENT NO.

and related documents numbered and dated):

amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of

14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AMENDMENTS

CALENDAR DAYS (%)30 CALENDAR DAYS (%)20 CALENDAR DAYS (%)10 CALENDAR DAYS (%)

(See Section I, Clause No. 52.232.8)

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

by the offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

28. AWARD DATE

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

CODE 24. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 7)

ITEM

(4 copies unless otherwise specified)

23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN

41 U.S.C. 253 (c) ( 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c) (

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION20. AMOUNT19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED

AWARD (To be completed by government)

CODE

REQ-674-24-000003

720674

USAID/South Africa USAID/Southern Africa 100 Totius Street P.O. Box 43 Groenkloof 0027 Pretoria, South Africa 00000

Aristide Horugavye ahorugavye@usaid.gov

PAGE(S)

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

Previous edition is unusable

STANDARD FORM 33 (Rev. 9-97)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.214(c)

12. In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within ______________ calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted x x x x x x x x

X x x x x x

JAN 11, 2024TBD

NANCY KLEINHANS

CONTRACTING OFFICER

SECTION A. SOLICITATION CONTRACT FORM

SECTION B: SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICE/COSTS

B.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this contract is to increase the availability of and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy in Western Africa and provide other services described in Section C.

B.2 CONTRACT TYPE

This is a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) completion contract with an estimated period of performance of five (5) years. For the consideration set forth below, the contractor must provide the deliverables or outputs described in this contract and comply with all contract requirements.

B.3 ESTIMATED COST, FIXED FEE, AND OBLIGATED AMOUNT

(1) The estimated cost for the performance of the work required hereunder, exclusive of fee is [$ To be completed prior to award]. The fixed fee is [$ To be completed prior to award]. The total estimated cost plus fixed fee is [$ To be completed prior to award].

(2) The amount currently obligated and available for reimbursement of allowable costs incurred by contractor (and payment of fee, if any) for performance hereunder is [$ To be completed prior to award].

The contractor must not exceed the aforesaid obligated amount, nor will the U.S. Government (USG) be responsible for costs incurred should the contractor do so.

(3) Funds obligated hereunder are anticipated to be sufficient through [To be completed prior to award].

Funding for this contract will be on an incremental basis, subject to availability of funds.

B.4 CONTRACT BUDGET

The budget for this contract is as follows: [To be completed prior to award]

CLIN Line Item Total

001a Direct Costs $TBD

001b Indirect Costs $TBD

001c Fixed Fee $TBD

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST-PLUS FIXED FEE $TBD

B.5 INDIRECT COSTS

(a) Pending establishment of revised provisional or final indirect cost rates, allowable indirect costs will be reimbursed on the basis of the following negotiated provisional or predetermined rates and the appropriate bases:

[To be completed prior to award]

B.6 COST REIMBURSABLE

The U.S. dollar allowable costs will be limited to reasonable, allocable and necessary costs determined in accordance with FAR 52.216-7 Allowable Cost and Payment (AUG 2018) and FAR 52.232-22, Limitation of Funds (APR 1984), and AIDAR 752.7003, “Documentation for Payment.”

B.7 PAYMENT OF FIXED FEE

Payment of fee, referenced above in B.3 and B.4, will be in accordance with FAR 52.216-8. The Contracting Officer, in consultation with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and at the request of the contractor, may modify the below fee schedule, based upon changes in underlying assumptions, the development context or other extenuating circumstances.

Upon successful completion of a deliverable, the contractor must provide evidence of its achievement to the COR for verification. Upon receipt of concurrence by the COR, the contractor may submit an invoice for the amount of the fee associated with the deliverable.

In the event of discontinuance of the work in accordance with the clause of the contract entitled FAR 52.249-6 Termination (Cost Reimbursement), the fee must be re-determined by mutual agreement equitably to reflect the reduction in the work actually performed. The amount by which such fee is less than, or exceeds, payments previously made on account of the fee must be paid to, or repaid by the contractor, as applicable.

The budget must include the proposed total fixed fee amount in accordance with FAR 15.404-4. The Offeror must submit a completed annual deliverable and fee tables. Fee included must be in line with objectives and results in Section C, and broken out by contract year with proposed corresponding fee amounts. Proposed deliverables for payment of Fee cannot include more than 30% of fee allocated to progress reporting such as quarterly, annual or other technical reports. Annual deliverables may break down results included in Section C. For example, the achievement of 5 million new on grid connections could be broken out by year depending on the offeror’s strategy for implementation.

Contract Year 1:

No. Description of Deliverable Method of Verification Amount of Fee

[Offeror to propose inputs to this table]

Contract Year 2:

No. Description of Deliverable Method of Verification Amount of

Fee

[Offeror to propose inputs to this table]

Contract Year 3:

No. Description of Deliverable Method of Verification Amount of Fee

[Offeror to propose inputs to this table]

Contract Year 4:

No. Description of Deliverable Method of Verification Amount of Fee

[Offeror to propose inputs to this table]

Contract Year 5:

No. Description of Deliverable Method of Verification Amount of Fee

[Offeror to propose inputs to this table]

B.8 KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN A DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT

Due to the somewhat fluid nature of the West African political and development context, the Empower West Africa contractor must be able to adapt to changing circumstances on the ground. Adaptive management will be required from the implementer to maintain, sustain, or expand development gains achieved through activity implementation.

The Contractor must anticipate the need to adapt to changing conditions on the ground either of a positive or negative nature to achieve the contract's objectives. These objectives are defined in Section C.

Implementation of these changes will be governed by FAR 52.243-2 (Alternate I) Changes Cost Reimbursement. The changes must be within the general scope of this contract. These changes will be made to address changing circumstances throughout the West Africa region. Examples of the circumstances include but are not limited to:

Data indicates and the Mission Director determines in writing that there is a high probability of a crisis developing in the operating environment that affects the contract’s objectives and any of the expected results, requiring adjustments to ongoing programming.

The purpose of this section is to inform the Contractor of the somewhat fluid nature of development work of West Africa and the likely need to adapt to changing circumstances while still achieving the contract’s objectives. There may be other needs that require the use of the changes clause but the extreme fluidity of the operating environment in West Africa warrants this section in order to increase the probability of success in achieving the contract’s objectives.

B.9 MULTI YEAR CONTRACT

This contract is subject to the requirements of FAR 17.106. In determining cancellation ceilings, the Contracting Officer has determined that – considering reasonable pre-production or startup, labor learning, and other nonrecurring costs to be incurred and which normally would be amortized – the cancellation ceiling for each contract year after the first is $0.

[END OF SECTION B]

SECTION C: DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

C.1 INTRODUCTION

The Power Africa Empower West Africa (“EWA”) contract is Power Africa’s flagship activity in West Africa, furthering Power Africa’s work of encouraging West Africa’s transition to a more sustainable low-carbon energy system. This contract will work closely with a separate USAID energy sector local training and capacity building award to ensure stakeholders have the skills and abilities needed to support the expansion and decarbonization of the sector. This contract will contribute towards closing the energy poverty gap within the region by increasing the availability of and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern electricity in West Africa. The contractor will achieve this through four mutually reinforcing and interconnected activities that will aim to address underlying root causes of the low levels of investments in the energy sector of West Africa.

The first and second line of efforts will provide technical assistance to national governments’ efforts at increasing electricity access through the design and implementation of national electrification programs.

The third will support private sector players, national ministries and state utilities in their energy supply planning efforts, particularly as it relates to the deployment of clean energy technology. The fourth and final effort will identify and support initiatives that catalyze private sector investments and innovation in the energy sector. Collectively, and with adaptive management, these interventions will strengthen West Africa’s energy sector through private sector investment flow and set it on a path to delivering sustainable, affordable and reliable energy for its people.

C.2 BACKGROUND

Of the roughly 500 million people1 living in West Africa2, an estimated 220 million are living without access to electricity3. Energy use per person in many parts of Africa is so low that even modest increases in economic development and income produce large increases in energy demand.4 While some West African countries, such as Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, have well developed energy sectors that attract investment, others, such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, have experienced long periods of civil war, infrastructure destruction, and have extremely weak energy sector institutions. Moreover, the difficult terrain of the Sahel, coupled with the rising levels of political insecurity, including extremist activities, and the lack of sustainable economic opportunities, have hampered investments in the region. As a whole, West African energy sectors struggle with limited investment, weak governance, a lack of sustainability and reliability in their power systems, political instability5, terrorism, limited access to finance, high costs of energy production, high energy tariffs, low revenue recovery, low willingness to pay, and high inflation, all of which contribute to energy sector challenges and poor service delivery.

Despite the endemic power shortages that impede socio-economic development in West Africa,6 electricity demand is projected to triple by 2040. West African power systems will need to expand and modernize to meet this growing demand. Given the abundance of solar, hydro, and wind resources available in the region, 1 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL 2 Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

3https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/01/31/accelerating-access-to-renewable-energy-in-west-africa#:~:text=West%20Africa%20has%20one%20of,costs%20in%20Sub%2DSaharan%20Africa 4 https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/battle-earths-climate-will-be-fought-africa 5 https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/USAID_West-Africa-and-USAID_Senegal_SRO_RDCS.pdf 6 https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/23/15933 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/01/31/accelerating-access-to-renewable-energy-in-west-africa#:%7E:text=West%20Africa%20has%20one%20of,costs%20in%20Sub%2DSaharan%20Africa https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/01/31/accelerating-access-to-renewable-energy-in-west-africa#:%7E:text=West%20Africa%20has%20one%20of,costs%20in%20Sub%2DSaharan%20Africa https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/USAID_West-Africa-and-USAID_Senegal_SRO_RDCS.pdf

West Africa is well-positioned to meet demand for energy through clean energy development and to transition to a decarbonized power sector in an equitable manner.

Power Africa and its Partnership Model In alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #7 which says, “by 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services,” the U.S. Congress passed the Electrify Africa Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-121) to encourage the efforts of sub-Saharan African countries to develop power solutions that support poverty reduction, promote development outcomes, and drive economic growth. In addition to the Electrify Africa Act, Executive Order 13746 further defined the Power Africa initiative, appointing USAID as the coordinator and the lead agency to facilitate the implementation of Power Africa and associated activities across the United States government. The Power Africa initiative brings together the collective resources of 12 U.S. government agencies, 21 development partners, key African institutions and counterparts, and over 180 private sector partners to advance sub-Saharan Africa’s development through universal access to clean energy by 2030. To help meet this goal, Power Africa is working with partners and stakeholders to reach 30,000 megawatts of cleaner and more reliable electricity generation capacity and 60 million new household and business connections. To date, Power Africa has supported over 14,000 megawatts of new power projects and over 39 million household and business connections.

Power Africa operates via a partnership model with USAID serving as the Coordinator. Effective coordination among Power Africa’s partners is key to the initiative's success. To manage coordination among Power Africa’s U.S. government, donor, and private sector partners, the Power Africa Coordinator’s Office has two headquarters - one in Washington, D.C. and one in Pretoria, South Africa. In addition, Power Africa staff are embedded in USAID Missions across sub-Saharan Africa. The Coordinator’s Office is composed of four offices, namely Energy, Partnerships, Program and the Front Office (which includes the Communications Team). The Energy Office primarily provides energy sector technical expertise and award management, while the Partnerships Office supports partner recruitment, relations, transaction advancement, and formal partner agreements.

The Power Africa partnership model accumulates results by two methods, through direct award implementation and through partner results outlined and acquired in formal partner agreements such as Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) or Letters of Intent (LOI) managed by the Partnerships Office. Each formal partnership agreement includes USAID pledges made possible largely through direct award implementation such as this award. Recent evaluations have indicated room for enhancing implementation, communication, and coordination outlined in our formal partner agreements and across the entirety of the Power Africa network. Partners and other stakeholders have highlighted a need for increased awareness of the USAID contractors’ roles and the benefit of engaging with our programs. Enhancing engagement with the Partnership Office to provide value-added services outlined in these formal agreements will seek to improve the mobilization of partner resources and the achievement of results in this award and towards Power Africa’s top level goals.

C.3 OBJECTIVE

The Empower West Africa Program (“EWA”) will expand supply of and access to affordable and reliable grid-connected and off-grid electricity services in West Africa, with the ultimate goal of advancing development priorities, including inclusive economic growth, competitiveness, security, and improved health and education outcomes.

The purpose of the Empower West Africa (EWA) program is to increase the availability of and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern electricity in West Africa. This program will connect more West https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2152 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2152 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2152 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2152 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/DCPD-201600747

African 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 Power Africa Coordinators Office, USAID Missions in West Africa, West African governments, and regional institutions to improve the enabling environment for energy sector investment (including climate finance), energy trade, and innovations in the energy sector.

This Contract does not include Nigeria. The Contractor is, however, expected to coordinate efforts with the USAID contractor delivering services in Nigeria. From time-to-time, the Contracting Officer (“CO”) may require the Contractor to conduct work in and that affects Nigeria when such work is required to advance regional issues and interests. Again, the Contractor must coordinate with all relevant USAID programs and mechanisms that are active within the West Africa region throughout the period of performance to ensure continuous complementarity and alignment.

C.4 THEORY OF CHANGE

EWA 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 the following objectives:

1. Contribute towards ending energy poverty in West Africa;

2. Accelerate West Africa’s progress towards a carbon free future; and

3. Bolster private sector investment and innovation in the energy sector.

In addition to the above objectives, the contractor must work to strengthen and expand grids to deliver more power to the end user.

The Contractor must closely coordinate the delivery of services aimed at achieving these objectives with existing and anticipated work conducted by stakeholders, including the Power Africa Coordinator’s Office, other USAID programs, relevant USG entities and implementers, regional and national host-country partners, the private sector, development partners, and civil society.

The Contractor will also mitigate critical barriers to attracting and sustaining necessary investment in electrical power generation, transmission, and distribution. Mitigating these barriers will facilitate expanded supply of and access to affordable and reliable grid-based and beyond the grid electricity services in West Africa.

C.5 OUTCOMES AND EXPECTED RESULTS

C.5.1 Outcome 1 – Optimizing utility performance to increase access

EWA will contribute towards closing the energy poverty gap in West Africa through the facilitation of legal connections for residential, commercial, public, and marginalized communities, such as refugee camps, to a source of electricity, for example through grid densification, grid extension, and customer regularization.

The Contractor must achieve this with a focus on enhancing the cost effectiveness and speed of electrification while improving and/or safeguarding the financial health of the distribution sector. Efforts under this objective must ensure an appropriate balance between supply and demand. Importantly, interventions must complement efforts under Outcome 3, which targets strengthening utility performance and viability and also help ensure that new grid connections supply quality power to customers and do not compound financial losses for utilities or other key stakeholders of the sector. Expected results for this Outcome include the following:

● 1.5 million new on-grid connections

● Aggregate technical, commercial and collection electricity losses reduced in Power Africa supported utilities

Task 1.1: Enhance the capacity of utilities to reduce commercial, and collection losses and increase the positive cash flow of the utilities.

A financially viable utility is one which can manage its cost of service with positive cash flow due to increased electricity usage and proper business management practices. The Contractor will work with electric utility companies to assess business turnaround strategies and, where it finds opportunities, support the utilities to implement those strategies and improve business management practices that impact capital expenditure and revenue flow through activities such as technical assistance toward electricity loss reduction activities, including supporting the utility to make improvements to customer relations and services, billing and collections, operations and maintenance, financial and investment planning, capacity building and training, skills transfer, as well as a broad range of operational and administrative improvements. Ultimately the contractor will strengthen the performance of relevant sector utilities with the main goal of reducing risk, enabling increased investment across critical segments of the value chain, and ensuring long term sector viability.

Task 1.2: High impact solutions to reduce technical losses

Utility technical performance impacts the success of other commercial and business improvement efforts.

The utilities or third-party service providers should have the methods and tools to support system flexibility, supply quality and reliability improvements, technology interoperability and upgrades, cybersecurity, the integration of intermittent generation resources, demand response, network infrastructure modernization and digitization, real-time monitoring of power and energy flows and resources to detect and respond to breakdowns, low quality of supply, and outages. The Contractor will work with utilities and/or their service providers to identify technical challenges that impact operational efficiency of the utility, or part of the utility supply area, and develop strategies such as grid infrastructure upgrades and grid reliability metrics, to help the utility to respond better to the identified technical challenges.

Task 1.3: Promote the use of demand side management and energy efficiency strategies.

Demand side management can be an important tool to help bridge the supply-demand gap and improve the operational efficiency of utilities. Demand-side management and energy efficiency measures involve effective management of consumption to maintain grid integrity and improve the end-use technologies and processes to provide equal or better energy services with fewer units of energy. The Contractor will engage with the utilities and other relevant government agencies, providing technical advisory services to improve on or develop demand side management/energy efficiency strategies and promote implementation of these strategies.

Task 1.4: Provide technical and advisory support to lower the up-front cost of connection and/or household wiring.

Provide technical, analytic, and business advisory support to relevant stakeholders including distribution utilities to identify and assess opportunities to lower the upfront cost of connection, particularly for end-users in low-income brackets, vulnerable and other disadvantaged population groups. These efforts should reduce the financial impacts of grid interconnection to both the end users and the distribution utilities.

Where applicable, provide targeted technical support to help relevant officials revise end-user payment structures to reduce the upfront cost and enable longer pay-back periods, including through the use and/or adaptation of business models proving successful in the commercial off-grid sector.

C.5.2. Outcome 2 – Off-grid generation and connections increased.

Where grid-connected electricity is still inaccessible, EWA will contribute towards closing the energy poverty gap in West Africa through the facilitation of legal connections for residential, commercial, public buildings, and marginalized communities, such as refugee camps, to an offgrid source of electricity. Contractor interventions toward this outcome must help ensure that new offgrid connections are aimed as much as possible toward productive uses of electricity, supply quality power to customers, and do not compound financial losses for operators of mini grids or other key stakeholders of the sector. Under Outcome 2, the contractor may also support installations, upgrading, and/or expansion of off-grid and backup renewable technologies, including but not limited to standalone solar systems, mini-grids, and productive use devices.

Such works would constitute construction activities, and can be considered as part of a subcontracting plan, or under the scope of work of a prime contractor. Construction is explicitly prohibited under grants, including under a grants under contracts mechanism (see ADS 303maw). Expected results for this Outcome include the following:

● Potential kW of minimum off-grid generation capacity. (To be proposed by Offeror)

● 1.5 million new offgrid connections

● 33,300 new productive use technologies sold as a result of USG assistance.

● 1.45 million metric tons of off-grid CO2e greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduced, sequestered

Task 2.1: Engage with rural electrification agencies and offgrid companies to expand the number of minigrid and standalone energy systems deployed and utilized.

To achieve universal access to electricity, many communities will need to be able to access alternative forms of electrification, including different variants of minigrid, integrated utilities and standalone energy systems that provide a high quality of service comparable to on-grid approaches. However, the scale and market segment of these systems differs from traditional utility approaches. Therefore, the Contractor will provide transaction advisory services and technical assistance including capacity development (in collaboration with the local award recipient) to renewable energy minigrid (including hybrid systems) and standalone energy companies to increase availability and access to finance, utilization rate of commissioned minigrid systems, profitability of minigrid systems and standalone solar companies despite declining subsidies and develop interventions that increase the number and capacity of new commissioned minigrids systems. The Contractor will develop catalytic grant programs that unlock opportunities including leveraging other sources of capital, and technology demonstration/pilots that promote new innovative renewable technologies and/or business models. When supporting expansion of minigrid and stand alone energy systems with the private sector the contractor should prioritize working with entities that have an existing MOU with Power Africa through the Power Africa Partnership Office.

Task 2.2: Increase the adoption of productive use equipment.

In order to support Power Africa’s efforts to promote economic development and improved standards of living through expanded access to electricity the Contractor must ensure that, where practical, the connections supported through the Contractor interventions are linked to income-generating activities and livelihoods, in particular for those of women. To do this, the Contractor must support, where practical, interventions that increase service hours or improve access to clients (from small to large industrial and commercial clients) whose businesses, agricultural activities, or other livelihood-supporting endeavors would benefit from/become more productive with improved electricity supply. The Contractor will develop https://www.usaid.gov/ads/policy/300/303maw interventions to both utilities and offgrid companies that increase the uptake of appliances or increase electricity consumption in a way that supports income generation for end users across appropriate electricity demand sectors of the economy. These efforts could include identifying relevant programs implemented by USAID, national governments, regional entities or other stakeholders and coupling electrification with efforts to enable access to agricultural, health or education inputs.

C.5.3 Outcome 3 – Transition to clean energy development and deployment accelerated

EWA will provide a range of technical assistance and transaction advisory support to national utilities to facilitate the increased supply of sustainable power in West Africa. In this context, ‘sustainable power’ refers to a generation mix that meets demand with an appropriate reserve margin, optimizes costs, and contributes to the improved long-term viability, performance, and reliability of the power sector with enhanced environmental performance compared to legacy technologies. Expected results for this Outcome include the following:

● 2,500 MWs of new generation capacity reach financial close

● Total value of installed energy storage capacity (MW, MWh) (To be proposed by Offeror)

● 12.6 million metric tons of on-grid CO2e greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduced, sequestered

Task 3.1: Deliver transaction advisory support to the development of new clean energy generation capacity.

The Contractor will provide a range of technical and advisory assistance to help advance new generation capacity through the project pipeline of national Ministries and the West African Power Pool. While helping these projects to reach financial close, the Contractor will also help to build a pipeline of viable projects necessary to meet current and future demand. The Contractor may support a mix of public, private, and public-private generation projects.

The Contractor will provide targeted transaction advisory assistance to relevant private sector and development partner actors (including, but not limited to, developers, sponsors, suppliers, and investors), with the goal of helping to enable and/or accelerate project advancement. When identifying entities that will receive transaction advisory support, the contractor should prioritize working with entities that have an existing LOI or MOU with Power Africa. This support will include, but will not be limited to: engaging directly with private sector actors and development partners in order to understand their specific goals, challenges, and needs; sharing information on country- and/or region-specific legal and regulatory requirements, including processes required to obtain necessary permits, waivers, right of way and land rights; advising on strategies to overcome specific project hurdles; and highlighting to the private sector any specific obstacles or potential risks associated with their project development plans.

Task 3.2: Support the transition and investment plan for cleaner energy production.

Decarbonizing the electricity supply mix will require building and integrating low-cost, low carbon and effective power systems together. Considering the high up-front capital cost and long term low operating costs of clean energy infrastructure, the grid readiness level and liquidity of the sector, planning support and several policies are needed for countries to respond to the need to transition to cleaner sources of energy beyond the financing needs. Part of this planning support could include resource needs assessments, integration of variable renewable energy into the grid, grid strengthening support, and other technical, social, environmental and governance support. The Contractor will contribute to government initiatives, policy documents, and activities that support a transition to a cleaner energy production with attributable emission reduction impact.

C.5.4 Outcome 4 – Private sector investment and innovation in the energy sector enhanced for domestic and regional infrastructure EWA will provide a range of technical assistance and transaction advisory support to national Ministries of Energy and other relevant government agencies to facilitate the increased investment in the energy sector of West Africa. The Contractor will offer support related to creating a supportive enabling environment that offers transparent, consistent and aligned policies and regulations. Even though the region’s power sector reels under a lot of challenges, these challenges present enormous opportunities for increased private sector investment. These opportunities include investment for on- and off-grid companies, local manufacturing or export of energy equipment, private finance for transmission, deployment of new technologies (smart meters, smart grids, battery energy storage systems, etc), and the introduction of innovative payment schemes. Expected results for this Outcome include the following:

● $5.5 billion of public and private funds mobilized for on-grid energy sector projects

● $250 million of public and private funds mobilized for off-grid energy sector projects

● Number of institutions adopting policies or procedures to promote gender equity in the clean energy sector workforce. (Target to be proposed by Offeror)

● 1,500 GWh/year of new electricity capacity committed for regional trade .

● 1,500 kilometers (km) of new transmission lines reach financial close

Task 4.1: Provide support to Planning/Regulatory institutions that advance power infrastructure transactions and cross-border power trade.

National and regional policies and regulations provide the supportive framework in which energy access companies operate and refine their business models. Therefore, the Contractor will help partner governments improve the enabling environment for energy access through such activities as: improving energy sector regulation, strategic planning, improving quality assurance standards, building capacity of utility and service providers, strengthening skills transfer, strengthening holistic rural electrification plans with on- and off-grid delineations, and strengthening implementation of sound policies and strategies.

Utilities, power pools, and other intergovernmental bodies such as Western African Power Pool (WAPP), WAPP member utilities, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), and the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) and the infrastructure they manage need to be strengthened to deliver clean power to homes and businesses. They need to optimize supply and demand for their existing power mixes both within their countries and across borders and allow synergistic sharing of complementary resources. Technical integration of the 14 member countries covered by WAPP is almost complete. With support from stakeholders, including Power Africa, WAPP reached a major milestone in 2023 by completing the successful permanent synchronization of the power grids of 12 West African countries. The final stage which will interconnect the final two countries is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. To complete interconnection of all countries in the region and facilitate least cost power trade, the Contractor will work with the WAPP, utilities and intergovernmental bodies to harmonize policies, legislation and regulatory frameworks to support development of regional transmission infrastructure, enable utilities to operate in an interconnected regional power market increasing the utilization of installed infrastructure, increase cross-border power trade, support the review, development and implementation of regional transmission masterplan, facilitate financing from public and private capital, increase the penetration of renewable energy, support countries in signing and honoring applicable transmission service and power purchase agreements.

In order to increase the supply and use of clean energy sources, it is critical for West African governments to develop and implement ambitious, viable, climate-resilient pathways–financial, policy, and technical strategies–to net-zero power systems that also meet their long-term access, availability and reliability of supply and economic growth goals. The Contractor will provide a combination of technical advisory interventions and embedded advisors to support and advance government initiatives that increases the adoption and implementation of improved foundational energy sector laws and regulations in alignment with each countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans, integrated resource and resilience planning to increase clean energy generation and ensure energy security in light of anticipated climate changes, reductions of emissions from existing energy assets (e.g., gas flaring); just energy transition support for countries in the region seeking to increase their use of renewables compared to fossil fuels; and a strengthened enabling environment for clean energy generation, distributed renewable energy, and cross-border power trade. Interventions will need to be based on an understanding of each country’s political economy context, best practices and relevant expert opinion of the Contractor.

Task 4.2: Support national and regional generation and transmission planning efforts.

The Contractor will provide a range of technical, analytic, and advisory assistance to entities responsible for energy sector planning to improve generation and transmission planning in West Africa. It is expected that this task will positively impact factors including electricity costs, investor confidence, quality of supply, and the long-term financial viability of the offtaker and other sector entities. This will include but will not be limited to providing targeted assistance to develop, review, and/or strengthen specific planning aspects including planning horizons, demand projections, timelines, consideration of least-cost solutions, and alignment with other elements of energy sector planning (including electrification, upstream development, regional, etc.). Where applicable, the Contractor will provide technical assistance to help relevant entities develop integrated energy sector plans that rationalize inputs and outcomes across all energy-related sub-sectors and integrate considerations of resource supply, environmental, infrastructure needs, investment requirements and social impacts, and other related development outcomes considering both national and/or regional impacts.

Task 4.3: Provide analyses and advisory services to advance national transition efforts from fossil fuel to clean energy.

The Contractor will provide technical assistance and analytical support to help relevant stakeholders assess, identify, and/or pursue plans for transitioning from reliance on fossil fuel generation to much cleaner sources such as solar, wind and hydro. The Contractor will consider options including conversion, switching, hybridization and optimization of existing generation assets to include, replace or displace reliance on coal, diesel, heavy fuel oil and gas as primary fuel for electricity generation. Where applicable, this effort will include providing support to help relevant entities to assess and/or pursue a more regional approach to electricity sector planning that balances the need for national-level energy security with opportunities to optimize efficiencies by importing from the regional power pool.

The assistance provided will include but will not be limited to development of analyses related to factors including cost comparisons, timelines, and projected impacts on other infrastructure or development priorities; reviews and/or revisions of existing planning documents; and development and implementation of associated training and materials to share this analysis with relevant stakeholders and enable it to be integrated into decision-making. Assistance will target, but will not be limited to, the countries with demonstrated political commitment to relatively well-developed national energy systems that offer potential for clean energy integration such as Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Ghana.

Task 4.4: Support legal and regulatory framework reforms for private sector investment.

The Contractor will provide a range of technical and advisory assistance to strengthen legal and regulatory frameworks to better enable private sector investment in the power sector across the entire value chain and explore novel sources of finance including carbon taxes, renewable energy credit, or climate finance, business models, and financial structure to increase access to capital. The Contractor is expected to provide technical, analytical, and advisory support to strengthen frameworks for independent power producers (IPPs), private investment in transmission as well as distribution. This support will target relevant national entities in assessing, revising, and/or developing policy and regulatory frameworks for private participation in the entire electricity value chain. The Contractor will ensure that these national documents reflect factors including the expanded potential for IPPs, the growth and increasing cost-effectiveness of renewable energy, potential for independent power transmission, and the role of distributed energy resources. Where other private sector frameworks exist, but do not effectively or efficiently promote private sector investment, the Contractor will assist in streamlining procedures to enhance transparency, efficiency, and speed. In instances where policy frameworks have been revised, but not yet fully operationalized, the Contractor will assist in identifying and addressing roadblocks to implementation. This will include, but will not be limited to assessing relevant frameworks to identify and understand regulatory gaps; analyzing characteristics related to factors like cost and effectiveness; provision of comparative analysis from neighboring countries and international best practice; and advisory support to help relevant stakeholders design improved frameworks.

Task 4.5: Promote gender equity, and the inclusion of marginalized communities in power sector planning.

Opportunities to advance sustainability and compliance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) imperatives are growing in the energy sector. ESG criteria are playing progressively more critical roles in driving investment decisions among financial institutions (FIs). Many energy access businesses lack the capacity to meet these evolving expectations. In addition, while the energy sector offers opportunities to mitigate global climate change through scaling renewable energy, the sector also needs to anticipate climate change impacts on its infrastructure and operations and prepare to adapt to increased risks from storms, droughts, floods, and wildfires. Moreso, the energy sector and the transition to clean energy will impact the West Africa region’s economy, environment, and natural resources. The development of the power sector will also significantly impact the overall health and well-being of citizens, especially Indigenous People, women, youth and other historically marginalized groups whose voices are often left out of energy project conversation and planning. The Contractor will develop activities and interventions including environmental mitigation and monitoring plans, gender analysis, among others impact analysis and remediation assessments to provide social and environmental safeguards against unintended and consequential impacts of developing electricity infrastructure projects.