Strengthening Utilities and Promoting Energy Reform (SUPER) Quarterly Report – Q3 FY2021

The SUPER TO operates through Work Assignments (WAs), which are distinct pieces of technical assistance, defined by specific scopes of work and budgets, undertaken directly with USAID Operating Units. In Q3, the SUPER team continued scoping potential WA opportunities, developed scopes of work, and sourced delivery teams for two new WAs, both of which are expected to launch in Q4. Key highlights from this reporting period include the facilitation of three Stakeholder Working Groups to review the current state of non-technical losses in Jamaica and discuss policy concepts for reducing non-technical losses. The SUPER team expects to facilitate two additional Stakeholder Working Group meetings, finalize the loss-reduction priorities and plan, and scope follow-on support in the upcoming quarter. The SUPER team also scoped WA #3 – Iraq Energy Sector Assessment, which will examine the current state of the energy sector of Federal Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region through the lens of identifying opportunities/obstacles for potential USAID programming support. This WA is expected to launch in Q4, following completion of a Congressional notification process and funding obligation. Additionally, the team scoped WA #4 – Utility Cybersecurity and Digitalization in the Caribbean and Central America, with the goal of improving the resiliency of electric utilities, regulators, energy authorities, regional organizations, and other energy sector stakeholders to manage cybersecurity challenges. Deloitte delivered a training for USAID energy and environment officers on climate change mitigation and the power sector, as well as contributed an article to the USAID Climatelinks.org blog highlighting the SUPER TO capabilities to help USAID missions with power sector-related climate change mitigation initiatives. The SUPER team operated in a work-from-home posture due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic and adjusted approaches to delivering technical assistance, such as facilitating virtual stakeholder sessions with utility counterparts. The SUPER TO aims to promote utility commercialization and equitable, effective reforms that will enhance the financial viability and long-term sustainability of developing countries' electricity systems. Through USAID Missions and Bureaus, SUPER partners with countries to assess existing sector conditions and prepare new strategies and operational plans, design and implement new market structures and models for private sector participation, build energy sector entities' institutional capacity, test new commercialization technologies and approaches, and report and build upon lessons learned. The core tasks under SUPER have been organized into four focus areas as defined by the contract and delineated in the Year One Work Plan. All of SUPER's sixteen activities should fall under those core tasks. The SUPER team has set up a process through which to filter potential WAs to ensure they align to the SUPER objectives and core activities laid out above; a process to set up and operationalize WAs that have technical concurrence and funding; and a close-out process that prioritizes publishing and socializing the learnings generated from each WA. In Q3, Deloitte focused on implementing non-technical loss reduction activities in Jamaica under WA #2, identifying and scoping potential new WAs, delivering a training to USAID energy and environment officers on climate change mitigation and the power sector, and promoting the SUPER TO as a mechanism that USAID Operating Units can leverage to promote climate change programming, utility commercialization priorities, and energy sector reforms. Looking to Q4, Deloitte will focus on completing activities under WA #2 and scoping follow-on work in Jamaica, launching two new WAs that are in the final stages of scoping, publishing and promoting the SUPER landing page on the USAID web site, and identifying new potential WAs through outreach to USAID Operating Units and partner country counterparts. The SUPER team has established a process to monitor progress via the WA Pipeline Tracker, which includes researching and scoping potential new WAs in Iraq, Latin America, and other regions. The team has also developed a process to set up and operationalize WAs that have technical concurrence and funding, and a close-out process that prioritizes publishing and socializing the learnings generated from each WA.