Sources sought 72016824RFI00002.pdf

SUBJECT: Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes for USAID Energy Policy Activity 2024 (Working title) in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Pursuant to FAR 52.215-3 “Request for Information (RFI),” the United States Government represented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is conducting this Sources Sought to identify small business contractors who possess the capabilities to provide services as specified below and to determine their availability, capability and adequacy. If your firm may be interested in this requirement, is a qualified small business for the NAICS code 541690, and has performed similar projects, we request the information shown below. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Information gathered through this notice may significantly influence USAID’s acquisition strategy for this prospective opportunity.

Activity Problem Statement and Purpose

Problem statement: The legal and regulatory framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) energy sector needs to become fully compliant with the EU acquis and best practices to effectively address the currently poor energy security and modest progress in transition to clean energy that hinder the sustainable development of the sector and withhold country's economic growth.

Activity purpose: The purpose of this Activity is to assist the sustainable development of the energy sector in BiH by enabling a smooth transition to clean energy and ensuring energy security for BiH.

The Activity will work to create a legal and regulatory framework in line with best practices and Euro-Atlantic integration requirements, focused on clean energy investments, improved energy sector governance and green jobs. This effort will empower citizens and the private sector to participate in a robust and legitimate economy and will help BiH diminish the influence of malign actors in the energy sector.

In addition, due to the aggression of Russia in Europe, building the security and independence of energy has become more important than ever. USAID technical assistance will support the BiH counterparts in creating the necessary preconditions for the regional and EU integration of the electricity and natural gas markets and improving resilience to cybersecurity threats. This will increase the security of supply for the energy consumers and create a transparent environment for the trade of these commodities. USAID will also support the diversification of the natural gas supply from the current sole supplier Russia, by supporting natural gas pipeline development that brings natural gas from different sources, as well as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and hydrogen technologies.

Activity Background/Context

BiH is a signatory to the Energy Community Treaty, which requires BiH to accept and adopt the relevant EU energy sector regulations. The EU, through the Energy Community Secretariat, regularly monitors and reports on the progress that BiH has achieved in liberalizing its energy sector.

Roberta C. Frasurea 1, 71000 Sarajevo. tel +387-33-704-000, fax +387-33-219-298, www.usaid.gov/ba

Although the reform of BiH’s electricity sector has made progress so far, significant effort is still needed to complete the process. According to the latest, 2022 Energy Community Annual Implementation Report the status of reform in the electricity sector is at 61% and BiH has still not implemented some of the key requirements for market integration with the EU. In addition, since the publication of this report, the Energy Community has adopted a new package of legislation which represents the largest addition to the Energy Community’s acquis so far. The package contains new ambitious targets and mechanisms for achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and enabling full market integration with European and regional systems. However, it also represents the largest challenge so far for all contracting parties in terms of implementation.

Furthermore, the reform of the BiH natural gas sector and implementation of EU obligations is at a very low level. According to the 2022 Energy Community Implementation Report, BiH has implemented only 24% of its obligations. The absence of a proper legal framework in the BiH natural gas sector continues to hinder any reform and endangers the country’s security of supply.

BiH has not adopted a State-level natural gas law, that would set the main framework for the functioning of the market and natural gas transport. On Entity level, the FBiH has not adopted a natural gas law, while the RS has adopted a law that disregards the competences of the State-level government. As a result, BiH has an underdeveloped natural gas market, characterized by lack of regulatory oversight, low level of transparency, no competition, vertical integration and an unfavorable business environment.

In addition, natural gas in BiH doesn't meet the required energy security standards, as there is not enough capacity to satisfy the total natural gas demand in the event of a disruption of the largest natural gas pipeline. BiH has no natural gas storage facilities and is dependent on only one transmission pipeline and only one source of supply, which brings Russian natural gas to the country.

Activity Objectives

The main Activity objectives are:

1. Preconditions for a more vigorous reliance on the renewable energy sources and energy efficiency created: work with BiH stakeholders in developing models to implement energy efficiency measures and increase the uptake of renewable energy sources, while maintaining system stability.

2. Legal and regulatory framework of BiH's energy sector improved: Assist the BiH stakeholders in implementing the most recent energy sector EU Directives and regulations.

3. The security of BiH’s energy sector strengthened: Assist the BiH stakeholders in integrating in the regional and EU energy markets and creating the preconditions for the diversification of natural gas sources of supply.

4. The capacity and awareness of key energy sector stakeholders to support and implement energy sector reforms strengthened: Capacity building and advocacy efforts are key in assisting the BiH stakeholders to implement the needed energy sector reforms and set the stage for the energy sector transition to clean energy.

Sources Sought Submission Requirements

The Government is requesting the following from interested parties: Respondents' company background and prior overseas experience working in energy sector with host governments and/or their respective civilian agencies, as well as other energy sector stakeholders, such as independent regulatory agencies, private sector, academia, non-governmental organizations, and the like. Please do not include company brochures and general information not relevant or applicable to this particular Activity.

Respondents must include the following information:

Company Name Company address Company Point of Contact (phone and email address) Company socioeconomic status Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) SAM registration status

In addition, please include the following information in your submission:

1. A brief statement of interest indicating the role your organization envisions in this opportunity.

2. Your organization’s capacity, knowledge, and experience to perform the aspects of the activity described above.

3. A brief description of projects your organization has implemented that had the same or similar focus as the planned activity.

The capability statements are not to exceed five (5) pages.

52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes.

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of: market research.

(End of provision)

Responses to this Notice are strictly voluntary - it is not mandatory to submit a response to this notice to participate in any formal RFP process that may take place in the future. Similarly, responding to this SSN will not give any added weight to an organization responding to a future solicitation or funding opportunity. All interested parties will be required to respond separately to any solicitations posted as a result of this sources sought notice.

Interested parties wishing to respond to this request must submit their response via email, in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat formats. Please email responses to: Lidija Kranjec at lkranjec@usaid.gov no later than the closing date as referenced above. Please reference the subject title “Contractor’s Name, Response to Sources Sought No. 72016824RFI00002."

mailto:lkranjec@usaid.gov

Thank you for your interest in partnering with USAID to deliver development technical assistance.

Sincerely, Leona Sasinkova Supervisory Contracting Officer USAID/Bosnia-Herzegovina