Quarterly Progress Report: FY2021 Q3

The activity has three main objectives: improving energy sector planning, strengthening the energy sector's policy, legal, and regulatory environment, and improving the performance of the state-owned utility. The major activity and challenge during the reporting period was the MoU negotiation process, which was compounded by the Covid-19 lockdown imposed during nearly the entire reporting period. The primary accomplishments were conducting pre-MOU technical assistance activities, including completing a draft report on hydropower construction cost estimation, engaging with IREP to support Lao applicants for DFC funding, and preparing draft SOWs for other pre-MoU activities in which MEM had expressed interest. To minimize the impact of the delay in the MoU process, NUMARK began pre-preparation of several of the planned post-MoU contractual deliverables, including the Grants Under Contract (GUC) Manual, GESI Analysis, and AMELP. NUMARK also set up and moved into the permanent project office, which completed all of the project start-up activities, and recruited and hired additional staff. The main next steps for FY2021 Q4 will be to continue the MoU negotiation process, continue to implement pre-MoU activities as allowed by MEM and EdL, and continue preparation of post-MoU contractual deliverables. The project team also continued to engage with USG and other donor-supported projects to discuss activity coordination and collaboration. The project activities during FY2021 Q3 included setting up and moving into the permanent project office, hiring full-time local Finance and Administration Manager, US-based Gender Specialist, and Senior Advisor to support MoU negotiation process, conducting interviews and selecting finalists for three positions, continuing MoU negotiation process, and preparing internal working drafts of key contractual deliverables. The project start-up activities were completed, with the project office setup being the only start-up activity that remained to be completed at the start of the reporting period. The LES Project Team started this work in early April and planned to complete it by the end of the month, but the work was delayed due to the Covid-19 lockdown that started on April 22. The team completed the work in late May and began using the office in early June when the lockdown restrictions were eased. The MoU negotiation process continued during the reporting period, with meetings with Minister of MEM, MEM focal point, and Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). The project team also continued business operating licensing process, prepared internal working drafts of key contractual deliverables, and prepared a preliminary assessment of hydropower construction costs. The project team engaged with USG and other donor-supported projects to discuss activity coordination and collaboration, and continued to implement pre-MoU activities as allowed by MEM and EdL. The project team also began pre-preparation of several of the planned post-MoU contractual deliverables, including the Grants Under Contract (GUC) Manual, GESI Analysis, and AMELP. The project team set up and moved into the permanent project office, which completed all of the project start-up activities, and recruited and hired additional staff. The project team also conducted interviews and selected finalists for three positions, and continued MoU negotiation process. The project team prepared internal working drafts of key contractual deliverables, including the Grants Under Contract (GUC) manual and the GESI Analysis. The project team prepared a preliminary assessment of hydropower construction costs, including a methodology for estimating costs based on capacity, head, and flow rates. The project team continued engagement with USG and other donor-supported projects to discuss activity coordination and collaboration. The project team also continued to implement pre-MoU activities as allowed by MEM and EdL.