Vanuatu: Consultant for the Development of On-Bill Financing Program - Intl.

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) was established as an intergovernmental organization with the objective of promoting sustainable development of developing and emerging countries including the least developed countries.  GGGI is dedicated to supporting the creation and diffusion of the model of economic growth known as “green growth”. The green growth model integrates economic growth, environmental sustainability, poverty reduction and social inclusion.

Vanuatu is a small island developing state (SIDS) with an estimated population of 272,459 and is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change and natural disasters, while its contribution to global greenhouse (GHG) emissions is negligible. Approximately 80% of the population lives in rural areas, scattered across 63 inhabited islands. Due to geographical challenges, livelihood activities are carried out with limited access to public infrastructure services such as energy and water supply, in rural and remote areas (basically anywhere in the country outside of the capital Port Vila).

Access to basic life support services and to economic activities, including reliable and affordable energy (even during and after extreme climate events) will support climate change adaptation efforts and meeting national sustainable development targets. Consequently, Vanuatu is committed to formulating strategies, national policies, and best practices for addressing GHG emissions and making a practical contribution to the global mitigation efforts.

The country’s development objectives are to be achieved by integrating GHG abatement efforts with other social, environmental, and economic priorities. In its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), Vanuatu’s planned mitigation intervention includes broad Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) measures to enable 15% savings in the energy sector. This will result in GHG emission reductions of around 30 ktCO₂e/year.

In 2016, the Government of Vanuatu (GoV) developed a 15-year energy demand projection for Vanuatu using a business-as-usual approach. The study concluded that energy demand in Vanuatu could more than double between 2015 and 2030. This growth is expected to be driven largely by commercial and industrial sectors, followed by residential uptake. The report further estimated that by 2030, almost 54,000 households will receive electricity compared to 17,500 in 2015. As grid expansion projects result in more households getting connected, energy security will be impacted.

The absence of a robust and conducive regulatory framework including policies, laws, regulations, and standards in the past, has allowed an uncontrollable influx of inefficient and low-priced appliances and products into the country.  Consequently, consumers buy more of the cheaper but inefficient products than the highly efficient ones with higher price tags that are more efficient but when including electricity costs, are overall cheaper in the long run. A detailed EE survey conducted back in 2013 indicated that only 43% of urban households had refrigerators, most of which did not have EE rating labels, and most households’ lighting products, and those used in public offices and businesses, did not meet EE standards. This culminated with the introduction of the Energy Efficiency of Electrical Appliances, Equipment and Lighting Products Act in 2016. The introduction of this legislation subsequently resulted in tighter controls on importation of refrigerants and lighting products into the country. However, more action is needed to enhance the uptake of EE products nationally.

The tender to develop the National Energy Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan (NEESAP) for Vanuatu including the development of the Enforcement Assessment report is work in progress and is expected to be undertaken concurrently with this assignment. The NEESAP will be the guiding document for Vanuatu to achieve its energy efficiency aspirations and contribute to achieving the EE targets in the National Energy Roadmap (NERM), NDC and the National Sustainable Development Plan (NSDP). 

Further to the development of the NEESAP, the development of the On-Bill Financing (OBF) guide for Vanuatu has the objective of increasing the uptake of high EE appliances. It will help boost the recognition and use of EE at the consumer end of the market chain, by allowing customers access to finance to meet upfront capital needs for EE products and contributing to the achievement of the national sustainable energy targets. 

It was intended that the OBF will be implemented through the National Green Energy Fund (NGEF). The NGEF was established in 2018 as a revolving fund to assist the GoV to achieve its NERM targets especially with regards to RE access and EE.

• Project: Consultancy to Develop the On-Bill Financing (OBF) program guide for Vanuatu
• Duty Station: Port Vila, Vanuatu
• Contract Duration: 3 Months (possibly 1^st May – 31^st July 2022)
• Number of Workdays Estimated: 40
• Consultant Level: 5
• Total Fees: up to USD 24,000 depending on candidate's credentials

The purpose of this assignment is the development of the On-Bill Financing (OBF) guide that will provide a clear step-by-step process and set requirements for utilization of OBF product by the NGEF. The OBF guide will identify potential EE market players whom NGEF could partner with to roll out this financial product.

Once approved by the NGEF Board, the OBF guide will be incorporated into the existing NGEF Operations Manual (OM). The operating platform to this product will be the same as the current lending products already utilized by NGEF. As the NGEF improves on its financial and lending management systems (currently in pipeline), the OBF product will also be incorporated as part of these improvements.

An international consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks (with the support of a local consultant recruited by GGGI) to develop the OBF programme guide:

A.        Consultations with Key Stakeholders

Undertake consultations with key stakeholders at the national and local level to raise awareness on the OBF and discuss options for effective implementation of OBF in Vanuatu. The key stakeholders shall include i) NGEF Secretariat ii) key government agencies (the Prime Minister’s office, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, Department of Customs and Inland Revenue, Department of Energy (DoE), Department of Climate Change, etc.), ii) Vanuatu Chamber of Commerce and Industry including the private sector (electrical contractors, importers and retailers of electrical equipment, etc) iii) Power Utility Companies (UNELCO and VUI) and the Utility Regulatory Authority (URA) iv) high energy consumers including resorts and hotels, manufacturing industries, hospitals, schools, etc and v) Academia and Civil Society Organizations.

Conduct 2 consultation workshops. The first one will be an inception workshop with key stakeholders to agree on the workplan, methodology and proposed deliverables of the assignment. The second workshop would be to validate and seek feedback from the key stakeholder on the OBF guide so as to revise, if necessary, and finalise the OBF guide. The final OBF guide would then be presented to the NGEF Board for approval and integration into the NGEF OM.

B.          Desktop Review and SWOT Analysis

Undertake a baseline/needs assessment by undertaking a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities and threats) analysis on energy efficiency measures in Vanuatu.

The review should cover available documents on related EE policies, legislations, regulations, targets and other baseline reports and assessments. These reports must include the NSDP, Updated NERM 2016 – 2030, NDC Implementation Roadmap 2021-2030, Pacific Appliance Labelling and Standards (PALS) and Promoting Energy Efficiency Project, Phase 2 (PEEP2)  project reports, NGEF, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Policy, etc. The review should also investigate OBF initiatives that are implemented in countries of similar economies in particular small island developing states (SIDS) including the Pacific (if any).

Based on these assessments, analyse, and recommend potential electrical appliances and equipment to be included as part of the OBF and recommend options for effective implementation of the OBF in Vanuatu. 

C.         Design the OBF Programme

The international consultant is expected to develop the programme design for the On-Bill Financing. This would include identifying the key stakeholders to be involved, their relationships and contributions in the implementation of the OBF programme, the processes involved and workflows, reporting lines and financial flows between each stakeholder. The design document should include a financial and resource planning framework for the implementation of the OBF outlining the resources (financial, human, equipment and systems, technical) required by the NGEF and the power utilities (Unelco and VUI) to implement the OBF and achieve the objectives and targets stipulated therein.

The risks and its associated mitigation actions relating to the effective operationalisation of the OBF must be highlighted in the document.

The design document should also include a results and monitoring framework to assess the effectiveness of the OBF.

D.        Development of the OBF Operations Manual

The international consultant is expected to develop the OBF Operations Manual (OM). The OBF OM can be a separate document or can be integrated as part of the OBF Design Document (DD). The OBF OM should clearly outline the step-by-step process of implementing the OBF programme in Vanuatu and should contain the relevant templates such as the MOU templates between NGEF, power utilities and the EE equipment suppliers, registration forms for new vendors who wish to participate in the OBF programme, the claim forms and the agreement templates between the power utility and its electricity customer and other relevant forms and templates necessary to effectively and efficiently implement the program.

E.         Finalise the OBF DD and manual by incorporating the various inputs and recommendations from the validation workshop.

F.         Prepare a submission paper on the OBF DD and OM for NGEF Board consideration and approval. The submission paper should highlight the salient features of the OBF and its operationalisation including its proposed integration to the NGEF OM.

The international consultant will be allocated 40 working days to complete the assignment. Work must commence immediately after contract signing and will be spread over three (3) months. The following work schedule is proposed only:

All reports and outputs must be in English, in accordance with GGGI’s formatting requirements, and submitted in hard copy and electronic formats along with complete sets of raw data, research materials, and interview notes.

This project is expected to be completed within 3 months (12 weeks) of contract signing with a tentative timetable as follows:

• Submission of Inception Report within one week (of project signing)
• Submission of SWOT analysis within 4 weeks
• Submission of Draft OBF Design document within 8 weeks
• Submission of draft OBF Operations Manual within 10 weeks Submission of final OBF Design Document including OBF Operations Manual within 12weeks
• Final Submission paper to the NGEF Board within 12 weeks

• The consultant is expected to work under the general guidance of the Senior Officer – GGGI Vanuatu, lead international consultant and in close collaboration with the Director of the DoE.
•  Due to the covid-19 restrictions, the international consultant(s) may not be able to travel to Vanuatu but would rely on the local consultant for local coordination to collect data, arrange workshops, meetings, and other logistics in-country. However, the lead international consultant(s) is to make arrangement to participate at the workshops, meetings etc. virtually where appropriate.
• All developed products under this assignment (incl. raw files and editable forms) will become property of DoE and GGGI.
• The Consultant shall submit the Final Report which should reflect the outcome of all activities prepared by the consultant.
• All relevant technical papers, reports, and other documents prepared from the start to the end of the assignment shall be attached to the Final Report.
• The Consultant shall submit the report in electronic versions readable by a Microsoft Office application.
• All outputs must be in English.
• Final report must be approved by the GGGI with the agreement of the Vanuatu Ministry of Climate Change. The Consultant shall consider the comments and necessary revisions proposed. Within 14 days from the receipt of the comments or modification proposal from the GGGI, the Consultant shall prepare and submit the final versions of the report. 

The international consultant must meet the following competency requirements:

A.        A minimum of a Masters’ degree or equivalent in Engineering Economics, International Development, Business Administration, Strategic Management, or any other related field

B.          A minimum of 8 years’ experience in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy financing.

C.          A minimum of 8 years’ experience in program design for on-bill financing (OBF) or related assignment.

D.         Strong problem-solving communication, research, and outstanding analytical writing skills with a proven ability to write analytical reports

G.        A demonstrated working knowledge of Vanuatu’s energy landscape 

H.        Immediate availability of the contractor

A prospective international consultant should submit in English only her/his proposal and with an attached CV detailing her/his qualifications and experience and its relevance to the assignment. The proposal should also outline her/his approach and methodology in achieving the desired assignment outcome. 

Date to close is Korean Standard Time (KST). Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered Application. Cover Letter, and CV must be sent in English. A consortium, or a firm may not be engaged for the individual consultant assignment.

Child protection – GGGI is committed to child protection, irrespective of whether any specific area of work involves direct contact with children. GGGI’s Child Protection Policy is written in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.