Selection of an Individual Consultant for the Selection of Villages and proposed Development Strategy for Regional Programme for Rural electrification of 20 000 villages, PRODEL20 000

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Date : 23 Mar 2020 - 23 Apr 2020
Institution : ECOWAS Commission
Contact :

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

(Consulting services – individual consultant selection)

Selection of an Individual Consultant for the Selection of Villages and proposed Development Strategy for Regional Programme for Rural electrification of 20 000 villages, PRODEL20 000

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Reference No. ECW/IC/ADM-EN-1/17-03/kik

In the framework of the execution of the 2020 Budget, The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intends to apply a portion its budgeted counterpart funds for the Selection of an Individual Consultant for the Selection of Villages and proposed Development Strategy for PRODEL 20 000.

2. The objective of the programme is to support ECOWAS’ contribution to rural communities’ access to energy services in order to improve their living conditions. It complements the efforts of Member States in their national strategies for universal access to electricity.
3. The consulting services (“the Services”) include the followings as shown below and the duration of the contract shall be for a maximum period of four (4) months. Duties and responsibilities of the consultants:

 

Role and Responsibilities

 

• identify, in collaboration with Member States, the number of villages to be connected to electricity in each of the ECOWAS Member States. These villages should not be part of an on-going project or an electrification plan for which funding has been secured. Criteria for the selection of communities will be determined in advance (population density, remoteness/proximity to existing networks, existing or proposed social or community infrastructure, economic resources, etc.);
• propose a breakdown of villages to be connected by country according to the criteria to be defined (low access rate, etc…);
• propose the selection criteria (cost, viability, ease of execution, national priority, administrative situation, equity between countries, other identified characteristics);
• select the 20,000 villages to be targeted under the project in collaboration with Member States;
• determine the number of villages concerned in the first phase of the programme to be implemented in 5 years for better visibility.
• take stock of rural electrification at the national level as at the end of 2018 (status of existing MV networks, electrification rate, number of communities already connected to electricity, exact situation of ongoing electrification programmes and their completion date);
• evaluate the gaps between the current electrification rate and the national objectives and projections for the universal access target rate in 2030.
• prepare a project portfolio in conjunction with the Member States that, will on the basis of the funds to be allocated to them as part of PRODEL 20,000 , draw up a list of villages and indicate the technology used: off-grid or hybrid PV power plant, Individual solar kits for households and for productive uses, socio-economic or community (schools, health posts, community centres, etc.).
• Villages in the project portfolio should not be part of ongoing electrification projects or a completed electrification plan.
• Villages not included in the Regional Electricity Access Programme (ECOREAP), jointly launched by the ECOWAS Commission and the World Bank, and which are currently being implemented have to be considered.

 

• The shortlisting of villages, especially those to be connected to off-grid systems or individual solar systems, will be based on a GIS that provides data on all villages in the areas concerned. These include:

1. distance from the national grid
2. average number of inhabitants,
3. number of households

 

4. The ECOWAS Commission now invites eligible Individual Consultants (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria are as follow:

 

Educational Qualification

• Shall possess a degree in electrical/mechanical engineering or related field, statistician/economist or equivalent;

Experience

• Shall justify fifteen (15) working years of relevant experience in evaluation, planning or management of electrification projects;
• Candidate shall justify of having executed at least three (3) similar assignments (large nationals projects) organized and successfully executed during the last ten years, with International Organizations or Donors funded Projects;
• Candidate shall justify of having executed at least two (2) similar assignments (large nationals projects) organized and successfully executed during the last ten years, in ECOWAS Member States;
• Candidate shall justify sound knowledge of the technical equipment and standards of electricity distribution networks and of the software used to calculate distribution networks (mechanical and electrical calculations) as well as GIS for rural electrification;

Language

• The individual consultants shall be fluent (reading, writing, speaking) in one (1) of the ECOWAS Official Languages (English, French or Portuguese) and the practical knowledge (reading, writing, speaking) of an additional one would be an advantage.

NB: The attention of interested Individual consultants is particularly drawn to Article 118 of the ECOWAS Revised Procurement Code (“Infringements by Candidates, Bidders and Awardees”), providing information on corrupt or fraudulent practices in competing for or executing a contract.  In addition, please refer to the following specific information on conflict of interest related to this assignment as per “Article 119 of the ECOWAS Revised Procurement Code.

5. The Consultants will be selected in accordance with the Selection of Individual Consultant set out in the Consultant Guidelines. The shortlisted candidates will be interviewed for the position.

Interested consultants may obtain further information at the email addresses below during office hours: Monday to Friday from 9.00 am GMT+1 to 5.00 pm GMT+1.

Email: procurement@ecowas.int,

with copy to: sbangoura@ecowas.int; bdabire@ecowas.int; akoumoin@ecowas.int; ikkamara@ecowas.int

 

6. Expressions of Interest (1 original and 3 copies) must be delivered in sealed envelopes and clearly marked “Selection of an Individual Consultant for the Selection of Villages and proposed Development Strategy for Prodel 20 000”, Do not open except in the presence of the Evaluation Committee” to the address below latest by Thursday April 23, 2020 at 11.00 am (GMT+1), Nigerian Time.     

 

The ECOWAS Tender Box is located at the Directorate of General Administration, Procurement Division, 1^st Floor ECOWAS Commission, 101 Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro District, P. M. B. 401 Abuja Nigeria.

 

Please note that electronic submissions are not accepted and will not be evaluated.

 

This EOI is also published on the ECOWAS website http://old22.ecowas.int/doing-business-in-ecowas/ecowas-procurement                                                                                       

                                                                           

 

Director General Administration