Background

This IC is advertised under Fast Track

Project Description 

Like many developing countries, Sudan has a shortage of electricity. Approximately 35% of the population has access to electricity. Even then, it is not reliable and experiences regular power outages. Hydro-power has the largest share of energy generation. The potential to expand hydro-power to meet future needs is limited. Sudan does not have significant oil or gas production and as a result will have to turn to importation of fossil fuels to meet future energy needs. Climate change threatens to affect rainfall patterns on which Sudan relies for the water that generates its hydro-power. This further emphasises the need for Sudan to diversify its energy sources. The wind energy project, which is a joint governemt/UNDP initiative and financially support by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), seeks to address these problems by promoting the generation of electric power from wind energy at autility scale in Sudan.

Sudan currently has a power generation capacity of about 3,000 MW, has no wind generation capacity and no grid-connected solar capacity. Publicly-owned utilities own all of the power generation facilities, transmission and distribution lines in Sudan. The Government owns 5,984 km of 220 kV transmission lines and 965 km of 500 kV transmission lines. Approximately 35% of Sudan's population has access to electricity. In 2012, the power consumption per capita was 233 kWh/ year. There are no independent power producers (IPPs) in the country, though initiatives are underway to promote private investment in power generation. This project seeks to support those initiatives where they relate to wind power.

In geographical terms the project is targeting Dongola as the baseline location to be followed by the Red Sea coast as the first replication area. In the meantime, meteorological data collection are underway in other potential areas covering the northern state and western Darfur which are the future targets in the long term planning of wind power application in Sudan.

The baseline wind power plant represents the first of its kind in the country and as such tangible efforts are needed to make a success out it as any failure will represent a setback to any future efforts in grid connected renewable energy projects. Therefore, the project is following a holistic approach whereby all technical and non-technical issues surrounding the project are carefully addressed and a wide scale stakeholder involvement is ensued.  This includes hardware design, planning and installation, metrological data collection, analysis and mapping, land ownership, effect on local communities, effect on migratory soaring birds and ecosystem in the project areas.

The Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation, and Electricity is the prime body responsible for the Generation, Transmission and Distribution of electric power in Sudan. Recently it has undergone major structuring whereby the process of power generation, transmission and distribution were separated and each run and managed by standalone parastatal company in a vital step to privatize the power sector in the country. 

In parallel to this the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) is preparing the legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure clarity and transparency of the sector. In particular, ERA has commenced separate studies to review and develop:

• Sudan Grid Code for, transmission, and Sub Codes for Distribution, Renewable Energy, and Nuclear system.
• Feed-in-tariff system (FiT).
• Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

In this process specialized consulting firms were hired to review and develop each regulatory framework and currently the studies are at different stages of progress.

The Wind Energy Project is a Government of Sudan/UNDP/GEF initiative for the development of grid interconnected wind power generation from wind energy in Sudan and part of its activities is supporting the development of policy and regulatory framework that encourages private sector investment in grid connected renewable energy based power generation. A key issue is the presence and enforcement of a robust grid code that allows renewable energy generated power to be fed into the utility grid.

This assignment aims to support the ERA in its endeavor to review and develop and maintain a robust grid code system covering the power chain and document produced by the consulting firms are comprehensive and covering the different power generation technologies including renewable energy systems mainly wind and solar for grid interconnection. Further, to ensure the quality of the document produced by the consulting firm is up to the international standard and as per the agreed upon Terms of Reference (TOR).

As Sudan is part of the East African Power Pool (EAPP), the country grid code need to consider the EAPP technical requirement and as such, the grid code should contain the necessary clauses for the harmonization with the EAPP.

Duties and Responsibilities

UNDP is seeking the services of an independent International Consultant (IC) with vast experience in the development of national grid codes, and the Sub Codes including the integration of renewable energy based power generation systems. The scope of the consultancy should include, but not limited to:

• The TOR for the development of Sudan of Grid Code and The Sub Codes (appendix 1) should be the basic document to be referred to, and form an integral part for the accomplishment of this assignment.
• Study the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the development of Sudan Grid Code and The Sub Codes (appendix 1).
• Critically review the Grid Code and The Sub Codes produced by the consulting firm under the agreement with the Ministry of water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity.
• Evaluate the completeness of the Grid Code and The Sub Codes document with special highlights on renewable energy grid interconnection requirement. 
• Identify gaps and volume of work needed to cover those gaps.
• Identify type and quality of data required for the completion of the Grid Code and The Sub Codes document.
• Investigate and ensure that, technical requirement for regional power interconnection by the EAPP is included in the Sudan Grid Code.
• Assist the ERA in the completion of the Grid Code and The Sub Codes document including Renewable Energy grid interconnection, till the production of the final documents.
• Identify capacity building development requirement for ERA to update and manage the grid code and advice on best training institution for ERA staff.

   Expected Outputs and Deliverables

• Complete report on the assessment of Sudan Grid Code and The Sub Codes produced by the consulting firm indicating the gaps and work needed to include renewable energy generated electricity in the country grid and enhancement of the National Grid 
• Final revised version of Sudan grid code covering all the gaps identified in the previous task including renewable energy and accepted by the Electricity Regulatory Authority.

Institutional Arrangement:

The consultant will work under the supervision and guidance of UNDP CO, the Wind Energy project and under the direct supervision and closely with Electricity Regulatory Authority of the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity in Khartoum.

Duration of the Assignment:

The assignment is for 15 working days spread over a period from 45 days expected to start on April /May and concluded not later than 15th June 2017.   

Duty Station

The consultant is a homebased with one visit of maximum of 4 days to Khartoum and working exclusively with the management and staff of the Electricity regulatory authority.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies Functional Competencies:

• Corporate Competencies
  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
  • Ability to work with a multi-cultural and diverse team.

• Functional Competencies:
  • Demonstrated experience in technical issues related to development and enforcement of grid code and similar regulatory work.
  • Demonstrated experience with Power Pools and Electricity Regulatory issues.
  • Demonstrated strong coordination and facilitation skills;
  • Excellent knowledge of International Electrical standards and norms.

Required Skills and Experience

The consultant must have:

• Minimum MSc degree in Power Engineering (Electrical /Mechanical or related field);
• Minimum 10 years’ field experience in power systems of which 3 years in the development and enforcement of grid code and similar regulatory work.
• Knowledge of technical requirement for the integration of renewable energy power generation.
• Experience with Power Pools and Electricity Regulatory is mandatory.
• Work experience in countries with similar conditions, especially in the African context, is an advantage.

Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments:

The consultancy fee will be determined on a lump sum basis. The lump sum amount must be all-inclusive including DSA and travel cost and the contract price must be fixed regardless of changes in the cost components. Payment will be made upon completion of key deliverables as outlined in section D above. 

Submission of Offers:

Interested consultants shall present:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability.
2. Personal CV, indicating all experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details.
3. Methodology of implementing the assignment.
4. Financial Proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed daily

Evaluation Criteria and selection of the consultant:

The offers received from the candidates will be evaluated using combined scoring method. The combined scoring method assesses the offers with technical merits of the proposals – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a max. of 70%, and later combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%.

Eligibility Criteria:

1. Minimum MSc degree in Power Engineering (Electrical /Mechanical or related field)
2. Minimum 10 years of field experience in power systems of which 3 years in the development and enforcement of grid code and similar regulatory work.
3. Experience with Power Pools and Electricity Regulatory is mandatory.

Technical Evaluation Gird:

Price proposals of the candidate obtaining 70% or above in technical proposals will be compared. The lowest price proposal will be awarded full marks of 30 points (30%). Rest of the technically qualified proposals will be awarded the marks on their price proposals on prorated basis using the following formula:                                                        

Marks Obtained in Price Proposal = Lowest Bid (amount) / Bid of the Offer (amount) X 30 Points

Award Criteria: The contract will be awarded to the candidate whose offer obtains the highest marks when technical and price proposal marks are aggregated together.