Quarterly Progress Report: West Africa Energy Program (WAEP)

WAEP is implemented by Deloitte Consulting LLP under Contract Number 720-674-19F-00008 and comprises two components: a West Africa regional program and a Ghana-specific program. The contract scope in West Africa regional seeks to increase electricity availability and access in Ghana while objectively quantifying and measuring progress towards three key Outcomes and their expected results. The four Outcomes of WAEP are: Optimize the supply of power in West Africa, Enable expanded end-user access to grid-based power that is reliable and affordable, Improve technical and institutional capacity and performance of select national utilities, and Accelerate the establishment of a high-functioning regional power market. The Program will achieve these outcomes by strategically aligning energy reform and electrification goals with new investment opportunities, including working to bring transactions to financial close, coordinating with the private sector, prioritizing the most viable regional projects, and building human and institutional capacity within targeted priority utilities, government, and regional institutions. During the inception phase of WAEP, which began on July 15, 2019, the Program established both technical and operational foundations for a strong program, working out of its regional hub in Accra, Ghana. Key highlights during this reporting period include participation in the Post-Award Kick-Off Event with USAID in Accra, Ghana, to confirm program priorities and initiate key stakeholder consultations to inform the Ghana Work Plan development. The Program also participated in a series of stakeholder consultations in West Africa, including meetings with potential partners and projects to support the transition of relevant aspects of their activities into WAEP. Additionally, WAEP participated in the Transition Learning Event, as organized by USAID, where invited Ghanaian and West Africa regional representatives from USAID projects and USAID missions convened to introduce their programs, the status of their respective work, and discuss strategies to transfer and transition aspects of their programs into WAEP. Furthermore, WAEP submitted a draft Year 1 Work Plan and accompanying Annexes, finalized the selection of project office location and establishment of legal registration in Ghana, mobilized key personnel into Accra, and finalized the recruitment of other local operational and cross-cutting staff to be based in Accra. The Program also executed four subcontracts for the Deloitte team to engage in early WAEP activities. The West Africa Energy Program's activities in West Africa regional are reflected in this Quarterly Report, which represents the inception phase of the Program. The effective date of this Task Order is July 15, 2019, and the project was formally kicked off in Accra, Ghana on August 28-29, 2019.