USAID Sector Reform and Utility Commercialization (SRUC) Task Order – Quarterly Performance Report (Q1 FY2018)

Agency for International Development (USAID). The project aims to promote utility commercialization and equitable, effective reforms that will enhance the financial viability and long-term sustainability of developing countries' electricity systems. The project's primary objective is to enable the expansion and growth of electricity systems and establish the necessary preconditions for clean energy investments. The SRUC Task Order is being implemented by Deloitte Consulting LLP, which is working directly with USAID to assist countries and counterparts with assessing existing sector conditions and preparing new strategies and plans. The project involves designing and implementing new market structures and models for private sector participation, building institutional capacity with utility partners, testing new commercialization technologies, and reporting lessons learned and results for broader dissemination in the sector. Core activities under the SRUC Task Order include technical and management functions. Technical functions include evaluations, hosting sector reform workshops and forums, designing and implementing new market structures, developing appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks, and designing and implementing new models for private sector participation. Management functions include planning and execution of technical functions, resource approval and deployment for technical projects, budget, administrative, and technical trackers, and developing marketing materials. During the first quarter of FY2018, the Deloitte Team continued the implementation of technical assistance Work Order Assignments in Haiti, Jamaica, Mozambique, Cote d'Ivoire, and Tanzania. The team finalized a study on the Utility Human Resource (HR) Incentive Study for Loss Reduction and updated the Smart Utilities website to better reflect SRUC's portfolio of projects. Highlights from the quarter include the installation of 360 of 400 ready boards in the Majesty Gardens community in Jamaica, the kick-off of work in Tanzania to catalog the lowest cost connection and house wiring alternatives for peri-urban neighborhoods, and the kick-off of the Willingness and Ability to Pay survey project in Cote d'Ivoire. The Deloitte Team also continued to submit a weekly tracking system to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) to provide insight into current tasks, challenges, and the week's work for both USAID and Deloitte. Given the growing complexity of the SRUC TO budget and the remaining period of performance, the Deloitte Team dedicated time to improve the SOW budget tracker so that it could provide more granularity to USAID. The Haiti Caracol Power project is a key component of the SRUC Task Order. The Deloitte Team resumed meetings with counterparts at the public-private partnership (PPP) unit within the Ministry of Finance and Energy Cell within the Ministry of Public Works related to soliciting a private partner for the Caracol Power Utility (CPU). Meetings focused on improving tender documentation and training. The team facilitated two workshops for the Government of Haiti (GoH) on effective request for proposal (RFP) development and improving the current Information Memorandum for the Energy Cell. The Deloitte Team also welcomed a new PPP specialist to the project, who led the team in discussions with USAID on the topic of building consensus among GoH agencies for the concession contract structure and its underlying foundation. Through several detailed working sessions with the USAID/Haiti Mission, the specialist led the team in the creation of a detailed "Consensus Presentation" which laid out each GoH agency's involvement and responsibilities under a concession structure for the CPU. In Q2 FY2018, the Deloitte Team will continue efforts to build consensus among the GoH stakeholders through meetings and collaborative discussions on the Caracol transaction. The purpose of these meetings will be to ensure that each of the parties with direct involvement in the deal understands their roles and responsibilities under the concession structure.