Senior Energy Consultant for County Energy Planning (CEP) Project at Practical Action Kenya

CONSULTANCY OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this consultancy is to:

• In collaboration with the county governments (Kajiado, Tana River and Machakos) and the Sustainable Energy Technical Assistance(SETA ) project provide technical support in conducting baseline survey activities that serve as a basis for the development of CEPs
• To conduct assessment studies on the status of clean cooking at county level, in relation to specific fuels and technologies.
• Conduct an analysis of key nexus sectors that have been chosen by respective counties as a focus for the CEP solution development
• Provide thematic expertise in key areas of Least Cost Electrification, clean cooking, gender and Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency

CONSULTANCY SCOPE

• The consultants will each be assigned to a county to provide technical leadership in the development of a County Energy Plan. The work to be conducted by the consultants is described in five work packages below:

Work package 1: Literature review and context analysis for county energy planning

Under this work package, the consultant will:

• Conduct literature review and analysis of key national and county energy policies and acts, county energy profiles, The County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), census reports and other such documents that serve as a basis for energy planning
• Assess current energy use and supply.
• Identify potential future energy supply.
• Analyse the existing energy activities, projects, plans, programmes and policies of the national government, county government, development partners, private sector stakeholders and non-governmental organizations.
• Identify available human and organizational resources to help implement County Energy Plans.
• Identify priorities and focal areas; and select short-term and medium-term priorities.

Work package 2:Baseline survey execution
Under this work package, the consultant will:

• Collect primary data through a sample survey in the county to understand the status of energy access for households, community facilities and enterprises. Primary data gathering will be used to fill any data gaps remaining after the literature review, and to help triangulate findings, for example, where secondary data from the literature is less recent.
• Carry out qualitative surveys too get deeper insights on the context opportunities and challenges within the focus sectors through a range of data gathering activities on the ground including Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs).
• Conduct an in depth survey to understand the status on cooking energy in the county focusing on the market for both cooking technologies and fuels
• the county to complete baseline analysis and prepare for community needs assessment
• In conducting these activities, the consultant shall pay attention to ensuring inclusivity of minority and marginalised groups(special interest groups) e.g., people with disabilities, youth, religious communities, female headed households.

Work package 3: Stakeholder Engagement and needs identification at community and sector level
Under this work package, the consultant will:

• Work with the county CEP team to assess and establish the true needs and expectations of the local community in terms of development, welfare economic activities, health care, education etc and the role of energy in meeting these needs. This will be done through.
• Key informant interviews with actors from key sectors while taking a value chain wide approach to include producers, aggregators, transporters distributors end users…
• Focus group discussions on specific sectors to further scrutinize the views and priorities from the perspective of energy as an enabler
• Sectoral workshops to further interrogate the priorities derived from KIIs and FGDs linked to wider sectoral priorities and plans

Develop a long list of priorities based on the baseline survey findings. The long list will be based on the following structure:

• Needs at household level focusing on lighting, cooking, heating, productive use in cottage activities, education for children, security
• Needs at the community level for a range of community services such as health, education, access to credit, or community services related to economic activities (access to water, street or marketplace lighting, storage capacities, to training and sensitisation)
• Needs at the County level focussing on the macro-economic development (e.g agriculture, trade and industry) and the resulting need for development of energy sources. This shall help the counties to develop a vision for the energy plan and priorities to be implemented for the next 10 years. It will also identify the short-term priorities to be developed for the next 3/5 years and the medium-term priorities to be sketched and included in CIDP/ADPs

Work package 4: Development of energy solutions including mainstreaming of clean cooking in the CEPs

• Under this work package, the consultant will guide the county to draft solutions that respond to the priority needs identified particularly those ones to be developed/answered by the first generation of CEPs. Other priorities will be developed in subsequent versions/revisions of the CEP (after 3 years). The process of solutions development will be guided by the INEP Frameworks stages 6-10
• The solutions should cover the following aspects:
• Electrification for households, institutions and businesses(Grid and off grid options)
• Clean cooking
• Bioenergy
• Energy efficiency and conservation

Solutions development will further include:

• Identifying policies, programmes, and projects to be implemented in order to achieve the county vision and energy goals
• A financing strategy showing the financial requirements for different types of actions, potential financing sources and mechanism (grants, debt, Results Based Financing.
• Establish operational responsibilities.
• A risk analysis framework
• A plan for performance measurement and reporting.

Work package 5: CEP write up
Under this package the consultant shall;

• Coordinate the write up of the CEP involving compilation of inputs from different work streams and aligning these to the CEP template provided under the INEP framework.
• Present the draft CEP for review and validation by the County CEP Technical committee

TIME FRAME AND KEY DELIVERABLES

• Overall, the assignment shall be undertaken and completed within 8 months upon signing of the contract.

SELECTION PROCESS

• The bidders shall submit a technical proposal responding on the following:
• The profile and experience of the bidders including demonstration of the eligibility criteria.
• Maximum 15 pages technical concept and approach excluding annexes on how the tasks listed in the section above (section 2) shall be delivered and achieved.
• Consultant’s CV showing relevant experiences.
• The county of preference to work in. (Kajiado, Tana River or Machakos)

EXPERT REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum of a Masters degree in a field related to renewable energy, environmental planning, environmental studies, natural resources, social sciences/ development studies
• At least 7 years’ experience in clean cooking and bioenergy, renewable energy, energy planning, research
• Demonstrate experience in energy planning (demand assessment, solution design, modelling) and research and analysis.
• Experience with energy delivery model approaches(desirable)
• Experience in developing tools and templates.
• Experience engaging with counties governments is an advantage.