The USAID Power Central Asia Activity – Year One Annual Report

PCA directly supports USAID/Central Asia's Regional Development Objective One, focused on Intermediate Result 1.2 (Regional Energy Modernization Increased) and will contribute to outcomes related to "Enhanced regional cooperation on the water-energy-food nexus" under Intermediate Result 1.3. PCA is providing Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan with the tools, skills, and technologies to develop secure and reliable power systems. Ensuring the stability of national power grids and efficiency-enhancing national power sector reforms will enable and support the creation of a regional electricity market and allow for smooth cross-border and regional power trade. These activities will improve energy system resiliency and promote economic growth and social development in Central Asia. The PCA works to accelerate Central Asia's transition to open and competitive economies primarily through transformation of respective national energy markets, increasing the deployment of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE), and developing the regional power market. This Activity coordinates closely with the ongoing USAID-funded Power the Future (PtF) and Central Asia Regional Electricity Market (CAREM) Activities, and with the broader USAID/CA energy portfolio, including partnerships with the U.S. Energy Association (USEA), the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), and the multi-donor supported Central Asia-South Asia Power Transmission Project (CASA-1000). PCA has established close cooperation and coordination with International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the World Bank (WB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and Asian Development Bank (ADB) to advance market reforms and leverage investments in RE projects. PCA also streamlined Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) and environmental compliance for all project activities. PCA focuses on the following three Objectives with ten Results, integrating four cross-cutting themes: Objective 1: National Market Liberalization Reforms - Result 1.1: National Energy Strategies Updated - Result 1.2: Optimal Market Design and Legal, Institutional, Regulatory (LIR) and Technical Frameworks Developed - Result 1.3: Cost Reflective Tariff Methodologies Established - Result 1.4: Utilities Modernized Objective 2: Clean Energy - Result 2.1: Strategies for Scaling Up Clean Energy Developed - Result 2.2: Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Integrated into Energy Planning - Result 2.3: Investment in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Increased Objective 3: Regional Power Market - Result 3.1: Cross-border Commercial Trade Enabled Due to Open Access to Generation and Transmission Networks - Result 3.2: Regional Electricity Market MoU Signed The PCA has made significant progress in its first year, with notable achievements in updating national energy strategies, developing optimal market design and LIR frameworks, and establishing cost reflective tariff methodologies. The Activity has also made progress in promoting clean energy and energy efficiency, and has enabled cross-border commercial trade in the regional electricity market.