South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP) Quarterly Report May 17, 2021 - June 30, 2021

The program serves as the linchpin of the U.S. Government's Indo-Pacific Vision, facilitating collaboration among the six countries to accelerate the transition to clean energy, mitigate climate change, and promote energy security, economic development, self-reliance, livelihoods, health, and productivity throughout the region. SAREP will support activities that contribute to the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) and the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue of the Indo-US Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership (CCEP). The program builds on USAID's successful legacy of energy sector projects, particularly the recent bilateral projects Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment 2.0 RE (PACE-D), Greening the Grid (GTG), Smart Power for Advancing Reliability and Connectivity (SPARC), Market Integration and Transformation for Energy Efficiency (MAITREE), and South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy Integration (SARI/EI). The SAREP program consists of two workstreams: Management: Communication, Collaboration, and Coordination, and Technical Services. The Management workstream will support regional stakeholder coordination and assume the responsibilities of USAID/India's South Asia Regional Energy Hub (SAREH) from 2022 onwards. The Technical Services workstream will ensure that SAREP's efforts are aligned with the initiative-wide strategies and national/regional priorities of its countries of operation, working across four technical objectives: Enhanced Regional Energy Markets and Integration, Increased Deployment of Advanced Energy Solutions and Systems, High-Performing Modern Utilities, and Transparent, Best Value Procurement and Private Sector Investment Mobilized. Through its $12 million Partnership Fund, SAREP will issue multiple grants to advance the demonstration and scale-up of transformational and replicable business models, new technologies, innovative financing mechanisms, and other solutions. The program operates in accordance with several cross-cutting themes, including private sector engagement, gender diversity and inclusion, pollution mitigation, and regional self-reliance. The SAREP consortium is led by RTI International in partnership with its India affiliate, RTI India, and five other private sector firms with extensive expertise in the region. The program has made significant progress in its start-up activities, including the development of templates for the Indian Railways strategy for decarbonization. The SAREP team has also submitted required deliverables, including the Local Compensation Plan waiver, subcontractor approvals, and the process for handling the India Goods and Services Tax. The SAREP chief of party (COP) started on the project start date, bringing extensive energy and project-management experience. The deputy chief of party (DCOP)/Utilities and Technology joined the project on June 21, and the DCOP for Trade and Investment will join the project-management team in mid-July. The proposed candidate for the Workstream 1/Cross-Cutting Lead declined the offer of employment, and the SAREP team is currently recruiting for a replacement.