Background

UNDP’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021 prioritizes closing the energy gap as one of the six signature solutions for policy and programme support to countries like Uganda to increase energy access, promote renewable energy and enhance energy efficiency in a manner that is inclusive and responsive to the needs of different economic sectors and segments of the population (urban/rural, women/men, household/business). This is in line with the aspirations of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) on affordable and clean energy to help countries achieve universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. The related signature solution aims to support countries’ transition to sustainable energy systems by working to de-risk the investment environment, to attract and leverage private and public-sector resources. Where energy does not yet reach everybody, the focus is on supporting innovative private and public solutions to increase energy access and delivery. In contexts where energy is already available to most or all people, the focus is on transitioning to renewable energy generation and energy efficiency measures and policies. In crisis and post-crisis situations, this solution focuses on re-establishing energy access where it has been lost, strengthening risk-informed, zero-carbon development. In delivering this signature solution, UNDP collaborates with other agencies under the UN-Energy framework, IRENA, UNEP, and the Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SEforALL), among other partners.

Recently, Uganda has made considerable progress in increasing access to electricity. Uganda has relatively abundant energy resources that are fairly well distributed throughout the country. The energy resource potential for Uganda includes hydropower, biomass, solar, geothermal, peat, uranium and oil and gas. The energy resource potential[1] of the country includes an estimated 4,500 MW of hydro power, 1,650 MW of biomass co-generation, 1,500 MW of geothermal, 800 MW of peat, 460 million tons of biomass standing stock with a sustainable annual yield of 50 million tons, and an average of 5.1 kWh/m2 of solar energy. Notwithstanding, Uganda’s energy sector is dominated by biomass, with 90% of households using either firewood (rural) or charcoal (urban) for cooking. Energy is one of the key sectors to boost the Ugandan economy towards its vision 2040.

In Uganda’s third National Development Plan (NDPIII) 2020/2021-2024/2025, the government plans to focus on: i) transitioning from biomass to clean energy sources, ii) investing in expanding the electricity transmission network, upgrading and expanding the distribution network, iii)? planning to expand generation of hydroelectric power, iv) increasing industrial energy consumption; v) developing and implementing a plan for integrating geothermal, nuclear, solar and wind energy in the electricity generation mix; and, vi) strengthening intra and inter-sectoral and institutional coordination.

The objectives set out by the government to achieve the above mentioned NDPIII priorities include:

• Increase access and utilization of electricity;
• Increase generation capacity of electricity;
• Increase adoption and use of clean energy;
• Promote utilization of energy efficient practices and technologies.

The Government recognizes the need and importance of accelerating access to modern energy services, especially in rural areas. Over the past ten (10) years, the Government embarked on a Power-Sector Reform Programme. The reform programme was aimed at providing adequate, reliable and least-cost energy supply to meet the country’s demand, promoting energy efficiency and scaling up rural and peri-urban access to maximize the impact on poverty reduction.

The Government of Uganda has been internationally acknowledged for its holistic approach to electricity sector reforms implemented in the early 2000s. Despite such progress, in 2018, only 28% of Ugandans had access to electricity. Uganda’s electricity consumption per capita is currently one of the lowest in the world at 78.5 kWh per capita compared to 74.38KWh per capital in 2017. The low energy access rate in Uganda is a binding constraint on its private sector development, productive capacity and structural transformation. The country continues to experience significant power supply shortages, low rates of access to electricity and high levels of power losses, all impacting negatively on the country’s economic growth. The government has a very ambitious programme to achieve a total of at least 3,200 megawatts of renewable electricity generation capacity by 2030[2] ?as indicated in Uganda’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and achieve 80% electrification by 2040.

To achieve energy security, in addition to national level reforms, Uganda should continue to explore regional level cooperation as well. Internationally, cooperation on issues such as development of regional power grids and exchange of technical and strategic information plays a vital role in ensuring energy security in a sustainable manner. Though East African countries are already moving in this direction, the effectiveness of such cooperation needs to be reviewed and improved. Uganda and other East African Community (EAC) member states adopted and signed the International Energy Charter to develop regional energy markets as well as to attract more energy investments in East Africa. Similarly, 11 countries in Eastern Africa including Uganda established the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) to interconnect their electricity grids and take advantage of excess capacity within the network and facilitate trade of electric power between the members. However, the effectiveness of these regional energy grids/pools is not clear.

UNDP has supported the government’s efforts on energy access through a number of programmes, which have focused on efficient use of biomass, integrated waste management for biogas and energy generation, energy efficiency in the industrial sector and decentralized off-grid solutions to institutions and communities in the remote parts of the country. In addition, UNDP’s Accelerator Lab is engaged with Government and a wide range of stakeholders in the private sector, academia, development partners, and civil society actors – including traditional institutions and local communities to roll out a portfolio of experiments on energy-based solutions to the frontier challenges of deforestation[3]. A rapid energy audit has been commissioned and is ongoing to determine the current demand and supply dynamics of energy to inform a portfolio of energy-based experiments to combat deforestation through scaling-up of the use of clean energy solutions, scaling-up of local production and demand of efficient cooking technologies, scaling-up the use of agricultural waste for production of briquettes, and structuring innovative financing and pricing instruments to promote clean energy solutions. As part of the response to COVID-19, UNDP is supporting improved access to energy services for health facilities and other social institutions across the country in the vulnerable communities in Uganda.

Furthermore, UNDP assessed private sector investment potential for NDC targets in the energy sector under the NDC Support Programme with a focus on the enabling policy environment, macro-economic risks, business environment and regulatory environment for foreign direct investment. The assessment report also presents a reporting framework to align business opportunities with Uganda’s NDC targets in the energy sector and the SDGs. In addition, UNCDF Clean Start programme considers partnerships with energy and financial service providers and offering capital, data analytics, capacity building and policy advocacy services in the off-grid energy finance markets. UNCDF CleanStart has scaled energy business models for cleaner, efficient and more effective sources of energy for poor people.

According to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), the UN in Uganda is mandated to support the Government of Uganda in ensuring that natural resources and environment are sustainably managed, protected and people - especially the vulnerable and marginalized - have the capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change and disaster risks by 2025. This is reflected in the Country Programme Document (CPD) 2021-2025 where UNDP’s support will be geared towards increasing access to affordable clean energy in underserved rural and urban communities. Specific areas of support will include:

• Promoting access to innovative, off-grid clean energy technologies for cooking and lighting such as LPG, solar energy and biogas;
• Facilitating multi-stakeholder platforms for scaling up clean energy solutions;
• Raising of awareness on available alternative clean energy sources and the viable financing options;
• Creating avenues for de-risking private sector investment in decentralized energy solutions, e.g. incentives, incubation support, inclusive financing mechanisms and use of digital technology will be explored;
• Improving energy access for social sectors and institutions such as refugee settlements, health centers, schools among others;
• Supporting implementation of the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in line with the Paris Agreement, the Climate Aggregation Platform, and the pay-go-solar initiative.

UNDP’s support will scale up the focus on improved access to clean, affordable and modern renewable energy services, increasing the share of clean energy and partnerships to promote energy efficiency and sustainable energy solutions targeting underserved communities/groups and women.

Against this background, UNDP would like to engage a consultant to facilitate the design of a programme offer to support the transformation of the energy sector during the upcoming Country Project Document (CPD) 2021-2025 period. Overall, this will involve a detailed assessment of the challenges, opportunities and innovations in regard to energy access at national and local levels, a strategic review of energy-related measures and programmes implemented by UNDP and key development partners, as well as the identification of potential areas of support by UNDP, especially in alignment with UNDP’s recently launched “Beyond 2030” offer and its 4 key pillars. This will also involve identifying and highlighting some suitable international best practices for increasing energy access, promoting renewable energy, and enhancing energy efficiency in the Ugandan context.

Duties and Responsibilities

The international consultant will be the team leader for the assignment.

The specific tasks for the consultant shall include the items listed below.

Task 1: Baseline assessment (15 days):

This task aims at conducting a desk review and stakeholders’ consultation, in order to understand the current situation of the energy sector in Uganda and identify the main barriers, challenges and gaps that currently prevent a sound development of sustainable energy solutions for increased energy access in the country.

The consultant is expected to consider at minimum the following items in the scope of this task:

Review of relevant information:

Review relevant documents (strategy, plans, reports, studies/assessments, academic papers) on the energy sector in Uganda with a specific focus on increasing energy access, promoting renewable energy, and enhancing energy efficiency. Some of the documents for review include the following:

• Revised Energy Policy;
• Renewable Energy Policy 2007;
• Off-grid Strategy;
• Vision 2040;
• Third National Development Plan;
• Green Growth Strategy;
• Climate Change Policy;
• Uganda’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC);
• others.

Review relevant UNDP documents, such as the CPD, global energy offer, UNDP Renewed Strategic Offer in Africa, de-risking renewable energy investment (DREI) methodology, assessment report of private sector investment potential for NDC targets and energy-related project documents and evaluations.

Collect and analyze recent data on the energy situation in Uganda on access to electricity, off-grid electrification, biomass consumption, and modern cooking technologies and fuels for rural and urban areas. This analysis should also include gender disaggregated data.

Review open source data on least cost electrification options for Uganda, in coordination with the Accelerator Lab.

Stakeholder mapping and consultations:

Map the key renewable energy activities, projects and initiatives that have been implemented in Uganda in the context of knowing more about their underlying socio-economic benefits, financial and fiscal instruments used, partnerships, and value chain analysis and then provide an initial assessment of their effectiveness and potential for further scaling up and applications. Following areas should be particularly looked at:

• Solar PV for households, institutions (e.g. health centers), social sectors, commercial sectors, refugee settlements, street lighting, among others;
• Sustainable use of biomass and fuels (e.g. briquettes);
• Improved cook stoves (Clean cooking) affordability and distribution;
• Improved waste management (e.g. biogas, waste to energy);
• Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG);
• Digital solutions including mobile money payments for pay-as-you-go schemes.

Conduct consultations with relevant stakeholders in the energy sector, including the energy utilities, government, donors and private sector to identify their areas of intervention at the national and regional levels.

In particular, identify the contribution of the private sector in the energy sector at national level for example through the Uganda National Renewable Energy Association (UNREEA) which brings on board seven renewable energy associations including the Uganda Solar Energy Association (USEA), Uganda Biogas association, biomass energy associations among others;

Identify and assess the different existing and new innovative financing solutions to increase investments in the sector, their merits and disadvantages. Review public-private partnerships in the energy sector such as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and identify models that have proven most effective;

Identify stakeholders that provide funding for the implementation of energy programmes at regional, national and local levels e.g. commercial banks, companies interested in energy efficiency, clean energy and climate change mitigation, private foundations, bilateral and international agencies.

Assessment of challenges:

Based on the desk review and stakeholders’ consultations, identify the main barriers, challenges and gaps that currently prevent a sound development of sustainable energy solutions at national and local levels in Uganda. Some of the challenges may include governance and institutional capacities, financing, market barriers, etc.

• Provide a qualitative assessment of the severity of these barriers, in particular in terms of risks perceived by the private sectors to invest on renewable energy infrastructure in the country. This assessment should also be informed by the assessment of the? private sector investment potential for NDC targets in the energy sector report developed by Deloitte.

Task 2: Definition of strategic interventions to support Uganda’s energy sector for 2021-2025 (25 days):

This task aims at defining the strategic interventions that UNDP Uganda could undertake to support the government in addressing the barriers, challenges and gaps identified in the baseline assessment, based on ongoing activities conducted by other stakeholders and UNDP’s mandate and comparative advantages in the country and globally.

The consultant is expected to consider at minimum the following items in the scope of this task:

Strategic interventions to address the barriers, challenges and gaps:

• Based on the baseline assessment, identify suitable technical, programmatic and policy options for UNDP Uganda in the 2021-2025 timeframe to increase energy access, promote renewable energy, and enhance energy efficiency in a manner that is inclusive and responsive to the needs of different economic sectors and segments of the population (urban/rural, women/men, household/businesses) in line with the SDGs agenda. This analysis should consider existing initiatives conducted by other stakeholders so as to foster coordination and synergies, and UNDP’s mandate and comparative advantages in the country and globally. The strategy should be aligned with UNDP global and regional energy offer, the National Development Plan III and the CPD;
• As part of these strategic interventions, recommend practical approaches to support private sector investments in the energy sector. This assessment should also consider financing models and initiatives that have worked and could accelerate the energy transition in Uganda. Innovative business model and financing options proposed in the scope of this strategy should be aligned with UNDP Financial Rules and Regulations (FRR). The consultant should also align and create linkages with the Climate Investment Platform (CIP) climate targets in the context of nationally determined contributions (NDCs), policies and regulations, financial de-risking, and access to capital markets and alignment with the ongoing work on the development of a? joint proposal (with UNHCR and WHO) on accelerating innovative finance for renewable energy in social sectors and UN Operations in Uganda under the SDG Fund Component 2;
• Identify and analyze any governance and capacity needs at national and local level to implement the strategic interventions identified, including for community participation, and recommend methods to address these needs;
• Map international best practices and examples – in particular from the African region when available - relevant to the identified strategic interventions and suggest suitable innovative energy initiatives that have proven successful elsewhere and could be applied in the Ugandan context (e.g. National Solar Mission or National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency).

Partner and private sector engagement:

• Identify potential partners and donors active in the sector that could support the identified strategic interventions and develop a partner mobilization strategy.Identify areas for private sector engagement through alignment with regional and global initiatives such as the East African Business Council (EABC), East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREE), Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC), among others.
• Explore how regional level cooperation – through the regional level power grids/pool?system – could be enhanced to further contribute to achieving energy security in Uganda..

Programme design:

• Prepare a programme document incorporating the key findings, recommendations and interventions for implementation under the new Country programme, in line with UNDP’s comparative advantage and mandate. The programme document should include a set of potential programme/project idea notes outlining the strategic interventions envisaged. It should also include the potential donors and partners that UNDP could approach to facilitate engagement with the government.

Expected Deliverables:

The main output for the assignment shall be a high quality programme document outlining the UNDP CO programmatic offer in support of the country’s energy transition. The document will be prepared in accordance with the policies and format for preparation of UNDP projects/programmes.

Competencies

Functional competencies:

• Ability to coordinate, convene stakeholders and report in a timely manner;
• Adequate knowledge of the energy sector in Uganda;
• Excellent organizational skill, service-mind, punctual, self-motivated, proactive, reliable and demonstrated ability to work in harmony with staff members of different national backgrounds;
• Excellent writing skills, ability to write in a structured, lucid and concise manner, without losing the depth of the substance
• Respect for the principles of the United Nations;
• Proven capability to meet deadline and work under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications:

Master’s degree or PhD in Environment, Natural Resources Management, Energy resources, Environmental Engineering, Climate Change, Sustainable development or other relevant disciplines.

Required experience:

• A minimum of 10 years professional experience in Energy, Environment, sustainable development ?and climate change at global, regional and national level;
• Specialized experience in supporting the design and implementation of energy programmes in developing countries. Experience in Uganda is an added advantage;
• Experience in the implementation of donor funded energy programmes in developing countries and in innovative financing mechanisms, e.g. results-based financing (RBF);
• Good understanding of the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector in Uganda, challenges, institutional and governance structures;
• Experience in working with a variety of stakeholders on energy access programmes including government agencies, donors, Private sector, planning authorities, government Ministries Department, Agencies (MDAs), NGOs, finance institutions, research and academia;
• Experience in the analysis of qualitative and quantitative information, production of analytical reports with conclusions and practical recommendations;
• Experience in energy finance;
• Track record in developing strategies to engage private sector systematically in financing and implementing energy programmes;?
• Demonstrated experience in working with private sector companies and government ministries.

Language and other skills:

Fluency in English- both written and oral.

Team Composition:

The team will be composed of 1 international and 1 national consultant on renewable energy. The consultants shall have prior experience in developing energy access programmes especially in developing countries. And will be obliged to work together on the assignment.

The international consultant will be designated as the team leader and will be responsible for guiding the entire programme design process evaluation process and finalizing the report. He/she will work remotely.

The local/national consultant will be responsible for collection of all in-country data that cannot be collected remotely, organizing meetings with national stakeholders and? where necessary conduct field work. The international consultant will be designated as the team leader and will be responsible for the deliverables of the assignment in cooperation with the national consultant.

Implementation:

The assignment will be coordinated closely by the UNDP Climate and Energy team at Country office and at regional/global level. The UNDP Team Leader Climate Change and Disaster Risk reduction will be responsible for contract management and all the approvals.

The final report and recommendations for the energy offer will be approved by the UNDP Resident Representative.

Duration for the work:

The assignment is expected to be accomplished in 40 working days spread across 8 weeks from the start of the contract until mid-November 2020.

Hiring process:

Individual consultants including a national and international consultant will be contracted for the assignment. Each of the consultants shall be contracted individually for the assignment but they will work together. UNDP will pair up the consultants and ensure they work closely and effectively to achieve the deliverables.

Selection Criteria:

Qualified Individual Consultant is expected to submit both the Technical and Financial Proposals. Only those applications which are responsive and compliant will be evaluated. The Consultant will be evaluated based on qualifications and the years of experience, as outlined in the qualifications/requirements section of the Terms of Reference. In addition, the consultant will also be evaluated on the following methodology:

• Technical Criteria weight: 70%:
• Financial criteria weight: 30%.

The award of the contract shall be made to the Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the terms of reference.

Submission of Application:

The candidate is required to submit an electronic application directly uploaded on the UNDP jobs website with all the requirements as listed here below. Annexes and further information may be downloaded on http://procurement-notices.undp.org no.93816.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document to this website - http://jobs.undp.org no. 69800.

• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II);
• Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.

Technical proposal:

• Brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment;
• A methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment;
• Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (Annex II);
• Annexes 1 and II - may be downloaded from the UNDP Procurement Notices Website -http://procurement-notices.undp.org/. For further clarifications, please contact; janet.anyango@undp.org; moses.lutwama@undp.org