EBRD: RENEWABLE ENERGY ASSESSMENT – METHODOLOGY STAGE

Procurement ref: 41618

Country: Regional
Sector:
Project number:
Funding sources: Bank Funded
Access eSelection
Contract type: Consultancy Services
Notice type: Invitations for expressions of interest (CSU)
Issue date: 01 Oct 2013
Closing date: 09 Oct 2013
London
Regional: Renewable Energy Assessment – Methodology Stage

Assignment Description: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “EBRD”, or the “Bank”) intends to retain a consultant (the “Consultant”) to develop methodology for the implementation of an Assessment of the Renewable Energy Sector (the “RE Sector”) across its countries of operations (the “Assessment”). The Assessment seeks to measure the performance of the renewable energy sector in the EBRD countries of operation and identify key policy and regulatory measures and practices that lead to realisation of countries’ renewable energy potential. Specifically, the Assessment will examine the regulatory regime in the EBRD countries of operation as against benchmarks of international best practice, identifying gaps and deficiencies in local legislation or regulatory practice.

The primary objective of the Assessment is to reflect upon the status of reform efforts in the Bank�s countries of operation in the renewable energy sector and to encourage, influence and provide guidance for ongoing and future legal reform efforts in those countries.

The Assessment would consist of three stages: stage one would entail the preparation of methodology and implementation plan (the “Methodology Stage”); stage two would consist of data collection, analysis and comparison as well as drawing up recommendations for optimising countries� regulatory regimes (“Data Collection and Analysis”); stage three would include promotion of the Assessment (“Promotion”). External consulting expertise is being retained to assist with the conduct of the first phase of the Assessment and this procurement notice is for that stage only.

It is intended that the Assessment would be a hybrid extensiveness/effectiveness survey examining key benchmarks to ascertain how developed the RE Sector markets are and how they work. In order to ensure the methodology�s applicability to the EBRD region, the Consultant should focus on and incorporate into the benchmark indicators the challenges to renewable energy development during all stages of the renewable energy life cycle (planning and policy development, project development, project operation and scale-up) common to transition countries. These indicators would include, not exhaustively, administrative barriers, network access, rules related to priority dispatch, grid capacity and coverage, subsidy support schemes and investment guarantees. The Consultant will compile a set of international best practice benchmarks for each of the categories above, against which the data collected will be compared (in the following project phase). These benchmarks will be drawn mainly from various internationally recognised sources, including the European Union (EU) renewable energy framework and will be based on a set of effective and efficient policy, regulatory, institutional and infrastructure measures, economic analysis and market knowledge.

The main objectives of the assignment is to develop methodology for carrying out the Assessment based on proven international best practices for the renewable energy sector. Specifically, the Consultant will draw up an assessment model incorporating international best practice benchmarks relating to the various components of the policy, legal, regulatory, institutional and infrastructure framework for the renewable energy sector (the “Assessment Model”). The Consultant will also prepare a plan for the implementation of the Assessment during phase two (the “Implementation Plan”) and will develop the necessary questionnaires and other instruments necessary for implementation.

Assignment Duration: The assignment is scheduled to have an overall duration of 2 months and is to begin immediately after the award of the contract. The Consultant is expected to deliver the draft methodology by early November 2013.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 50,000; exclusive of VAT.
The consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the Bank’s special status as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purhcased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.

Funding Source: EBRD’s own resources.

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions.

Consultant Profile: The Consultant will be a firm or consortium with experience in renewable energy sector.

The following is the minimum experience and expertise required for the expert team presented for this assignment:
– Senior legal/policy expertise: at least 15 years demonstrated experience in the energy and renewable energy sectors, including of advising on bankability of renewable energy investments, and/or EU energy regulatory practice;
– Legal/regulatory expertise: at least 7 years demonstrated legal/regulatory experience in the energy sector;
– Economic/regulatory analysis expertise: at least 10 years demonstrated experience in working on policy and project work related to the energy and renewable energy sectors;

Previous experience in the energy sectors of EBRD countries of operations would be highly desirable.

Submission Requirements: Interested consultants are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest.
In order to determine the qualifications and competence of consulting firms seeking to be shortlisted, the information submitted should include the following:
1) Company/consortium profile(s), organisation and staffing.
2) Firm’s previous experience in similar assignments undertaken in the previous five years, including their locations. Experience in EBRD countries of operations is desirable.
3) A short proposal for the Assessment methodology (no more than 3 pages).
4) CVs of specific experts (experience of advising on renewable energy projects and in similar assignments, including their locations. Experience in EBRD countries of operations is desirable) who would be available to work on the assignment.

The above information should not exceed 25 pages excluding CVs.

Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through eSelection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date and time mentioned above.

Note: Selection and contracting will normally be made from responses to this notification. The Consultant will be selected from a shortlist, subject to availability of funding.

energjia.al, 01.10.2013