Roadmap for Attracting Investment in Power Sector through Corporate and Structural Reform- Legal/Regulatory Gap Analysis and Options Study

Location:Uzbekistan

Business sector:Sustainable Resources and Climate Change, Power and energy

Project number:75780

Funding source:EBSF - EBRD Shareholder Special Fund

Contract type:Consultancy Services

Notice type:Invitation for expressions of interest (CSU)

Issue date:07 Nov 2018

Closing date:28 Nov 2018   at  17:00   London

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Project Description:

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ("EBRD" or the "Bank") is planning to be engaged in the development of a Roadmap for attracting investment through corporate and structural reform, together with a number of other technical cooperation assignments related to grid strengthening, water management and climate resilience as well as competitive procurement of renewables.

Assignment Description:

The EBRD envisages funding assistance to, and cooperating with, policymakers in Uzbekistan in the implementation of a technical assistance study composed of one main initial component, associated with the development of a Roadmap for attracting investment through corporate and structural reform (the "Assignment").

EBRD wish to engage a consultant (the "Consultant") to undertake the Assignment. The expected outcome of the Assignment is:

· A gap analysis of the legal, institutional and regulatory framework, outlining the existing legislative, commercial, institutional and regulatory arrangements in the power sector in Uzbekistan and presenting a range of potential options for reform. While the focus of the analysis will be on unbundling, considerations around environmental and social implications in the sector shall be included. The gap analysis is expected to take into account the outcome of other donors’ activities in the sector, including least cost investment studies and ongoing work on corporate governance. Completion of this first initial component will target assisting the Government in identification of the reform path out of the presented options.

The selected Consultant is expected to provide the following:

· To analyse the current legislative, commercial, legal, institutional and regulatory arrangements in the sector and assess progress against objectives for the unbundling process started following the introduction of The Law on Electricity in 2009 with a focus on transparency, accountability and investor confidence.

· To present to policymakers in Uzbekistan a range of different options for structuring the commercial, institutional and regulatory arrangements in the sector so to increase investment attractiveness. Considerations around corporate governance arrangements, social and environmental implications will also be included in order to assist the policymakers with identifying the most appropriate reform path.

· To help strengthen technical capacity of the sector officials by identifying and presenting proven international best practice to officials, particularly through examining practical experience from other countries which have encountered similar regulatory and operational hurdles and have addressed them successfully.

Full Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Assignment can be found here.

Consultant Selection Procedure: Single stage open competitive selection. Interested firms or groups of firms are invited to submit a Technical and Financial Proposal.

Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in December 2018 / January 2019 and has an estimated overall duration of 5 months.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 475,000 (exclusive of VAT).

Subject to availability of funding, the performance of the selected Consultant and the business needs, the Assignment may be extended beyond the current scope.

Funding Source: It is anticipated that the contract will be financed by EBRD Special Shareholder Fund. Selection and contracting are subject to the availability of funding.

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions based on the consultant's country of origin.

Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be a firm or a group of firms preferably with previous project experience related to:

(i) Experience in the provision of advice on reforms and unbundling of state-owned electricity companies in the Caucasus and Central Asian countries and in other jurisdictions.

(ii) Experience in economic regulation as applied to the power sector, including in the implementation of the European Union’s Third Energy Package.

(iii) Experience in the valuation of power generation, transmission and distribution companies in the Caucasus and Central Asian Republics and/or in other jurisdictions.

(iv) Qualification in IFRS and experience in regulatory accounting.

(v) Legal experience in drafting of primary and secondary legislation for the energy sector in the Caucasus and Central Asian countries and/or in other jurisdictions.

The Consultant's team is expected to include a combination of the following Key Experts:

1. Regulatory Policy Expert(s) and Team Leader

The expert(s) will have (i) a degree in economics, or another relevant field preferably with a postgraduate qualification; ); (ii) preferably at least 10 years of international work experience in power sector, including in the region; (iii) in-depth knowledge and experience with Third Energy Package and electricity sector market reform, including unbundling and liberalisation; (iv) hands-on experience with local economic and technical regulations in the power sector; (v) an understanding of the legal framework required to underpin tariff reforms and regulatory reforms; (vi) experience in cost-benefit analysis.

One or the proposed experts (in more than one) should be identified as a Team Leader, who should also demonstrate a strong leadership experience.

2. Regulatory Finance Expert(s)

The expert(s) will have (i) a degree in accounting, finance or another relevant field preferably with a postgraduate qualification; (ii) international work experience in regulatory finance and accounting, including in the region; (iii) in-depth knowledge of power sector operations and experience in regulatory finance as applied to the sector (tariff cost recovery assessment, financial analysis, return on capital).

3. Valuation Expert(s)

The expert(s) should have a degree in accounting or another relevant field, and preferably at least 10 years of working experience in asset valuation of utilities (and specifically in the power sector) .

4. Valuation/Power System Planning Expert(s)

The expert(s) should have a degree in engineering or another relevant field, and good experience in power system planning and in power asset valuation.

5. Corporate Governance/Unbundling Expert(s)

The expert(s) will have (i) a degree in law preferably with a postgraduate qualification; (ii) preferably at least 10 years of international work experience in unbundling and corporate governance as applied power sector reform, including in the region; (iii) in-depth knowledge and experience with Third Energy Package and electricity sector market reform, including unbundling and liberalisation; (iv) hands-on experience with local economic and technical regulations in the power sector; (v) an understanding of the legal framework required to underpin tariff reforms and regulatory reforms; (vi) familiarity with OECD Principles of Corporate Governance.

6. Legal Advisor/ Regulations Expert(s)

The expert(s) will have (i) a degree in law, preferably with a postgraduate qualification; and (ii) preferably at least 10 years’ work experience providing legal advice in Uzbekistan. It is expected to advise the team regarding compliance with and adaptation to national laws, regulations, rules, and policies to balance international standards with national compliance, as well as with any other assistance required. Mixed experience in advising the private sector in developing contracts and the government in developing law or policy is preferred.

7. Environmental and Social Specialist

The expert should have a degree in environmental science or another relevant field, and good experience in infrastructure projects, including the assessment of social/environmental costs and benefits associated with structural reform.

Submission Requirements: The consultants are now invited to submit a completed Technical and Financial Proposal as per the standard templates and instructions available at this link. Interested Consultants should make themselves familiar with these Standard Templates, Standard Instructions and Conditions of Contract in preparation of their proposals.

1. The Technical Proposal shall be submitted in English electronically via eSelection not later than the Closing Date, as one single PDF file. The technical proposal should not exceed 15 pages excluding the Declaration Form and CVs (Form 1- TP 1 and Form 1 – TP 6).

2. The Financial Proposal (Form 2 – FP 1 and FP2) shall be submitted in English separately by email only to the Bank Contact Person. Consultants are reminded of the requirement to ensure the confidentiality of the Financial Proposals.

A Technical Proposal that contains elements of a financial proposal shall be declared non-responsive.

A Financial proposal submitted together with the technical proposals via e Selection shall be declared non-responsive.

Bank Contact Person:

Elena Kolodiy
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
e-mail: kolodiyo@ebrd.com

For the avoidance of doubt, technical proposals should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address. Financial proposals should be sent to this email address and NOT through eSelection.

Deadline to Submit Clarification Questions: Via e-mail to the Bank Contact Person by not later than two weeks before the Closing Date.

1. Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria

(a) Firm's previous project experience in similar assignments (34%)

(b) Quality of the methodology proposed for the Assignment (33%)

(c) CVs of the Key Experts (33%).

The minimum technical score (St) required to pass is 70.

2. Opening of Financial Proposals

After the technical evaluation is completed, only the submissions which score 70 or above of the total marks available for the technical criteria will be eligible to have their financial proposals opened.

3. Combined Technical and Financial Evaluation

The lowest evaluated Financial Proposal (Fm) is given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 100. The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other Proposals is calculated as follows:

Sf = 100 x Fm/ F, in which “Sf” is the financial score, “Fm” is the lowest evaluated Financial Proposal, and “F” the price of the Proposal under consideration.

Proposals are then ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores using the weights (T = 80; F = 20) T + F = 100 as follows: S = St x T% + Sf x F%.

Important Notes:

1. The proposal validity period is 120 days from the deadline date for the receipt of submissions. During this period, the Consultant shall maintain its original Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Experts, the proposed rates and the total price.

2. The selection will be made from the Proposals received in response to this notification only, on the basis of the submission requirements and selection criteria set out in this Procurement Notice. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected and invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.

3. Any updates of and clarifications on this procurement notice shall be announced as updates on this notice, without any other notification. In the event of changes consultants will need to download the updated versions. Consultants are required to periodically check the notice for updates. Failure to take the updates into account while preparing the Proposal may result in disqualification or penalties to the scores in the evaluation.
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