Assignment Description: Tajikistan is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to climate change. This is due to the extreme sensitivity to climate change of the country's glacial hydrology, which is critical for energy generation and agricultural irrigation, and for the livelihoods and wellbeing of the population. Climate change models predict significant changes in precipitation, snowmelt and the dynamics of Tajik glaciers. As hydropower provides 98% of Tajikistan's electricity supply, the entire energy sector is highly sensitive to climatic variability and climate change. This vulnerability is compounded by prolonged underinvestment, over-reliance on aging hydropower assets, policy failures and weak corporate governance. Upgrades are needed urgently to avoid the risk of major technical failure that would jeopardize the supply of electricity to all customers and cause enormous damage to Tajikistan's economy. However, the Tajik hydropower industry has so far had no exposure to international improved practices for assessing and managing climate change risks to hydropower operations, as have been developed in a number of OECD countries with advanced hydropower industries.
In response to these challenges, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ("EBRD" or the "Bank") is preparing an investment in the rehabilitation of Qairokkum HPP, a 126 MW facility on the Syr Darya River. In order to address the above climate change issues, EBRD has integrated detailed analysis of climate change impacts into the preparation and design of this investment. However, in Tajikistan there remain significant gaps in the understanding of the implications of climate variability and change for energy producers and energy users, and low awareness of improved practices employed in some OECD countries. This assignment will provide technical support to Barki Tojik, the main electricity company in Tajikistan, to build their capacity to manage climate change impacts in the management of hydropower systems and in broader energy sector management and investment planning, and move towards improved practices such as those adopted by some OECD countries.
Main Objectives: In order to meet the significant climate resilience challenges facing the Tajik energy sector, there is a need for dedicated technical cooperation (TC) support to build the capacity of key institutions including Barki Tojik and the state hydro-meteorological agency Tajik Hydromet to understand and manage climate change risks to hydropower operations and to the energy sector more broadly, and to move towards improved international practices as used in some OECD countries. This is also essential for ensuring that investments in hydropower infrastructure rehabilitation (such as Qairokkum HPP) contribute towards the longer-term climate resilience of Tajikistan’s hydropower sector.
Therefore, EBRD intends to appoint a consultancy firm or group of firms (the "Consultant"), whose team must include (either as lead firm, consortium member or sub-contractor) an OECD hydropower operator with extensive experience of assessing and managing climate change risks to hydropower operations, to deliver a targeted technical cooperation programme that achieves the following objectives:
- To build the capacities of Barki Tojik and Tajik Hydromet to understand and manage the implications of climate change and climate variability on hydropower operations;
- To enable these institutions to move towards international best practice in climate resilient hydropower plant management and operations, in line with emerging best practice in OECD countries;
- To support the development of an evidence-based framework for managing risks associated with climatic variability and climate change into energy sector management.
In order to achieve the above objectives, the Consultant will design and deliver a capacity-building TC programme that covers the following themes:
a) Capacity building, technical skills transfer and training for understanding, assessing and managing risks associated with climatic variability and climate change to hydropower operations (including the provision of a limited amount of relevant training equipment);
b) Twinning and exchange with a hydropower operator in the field of climate change resilience from an OECD country;
c) Support for the development of an evidence-based framework for managing risks associated with climatic variability and climate change into energy sector management.
Assignment Duration: It is envisaged that the contract duration is twenty four months. There is a possibility for contract extension subject to project needs, satisfactory performance of the consultant and availability of funding.
Maximum Cost Estimate for the Assignment: USD 998,770; exclusive of VAT.
The consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the Bank's special status as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purhcased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.
Funding Source: This assignment will be funded by the UK Sustainable Energy Initiative Fund and the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund.
Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions.
Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. It is envisaged that the Consultant will be a firm or group of firms combining both international and local expertise. The Consultant is expected to demonstrate experience in (i) hydropower management, (ii) climate change impacts assessment and management, (iii) practical application of hydrological modelling and forecasting, and (iv) relevant assignments in the Central Asia region. The Consultant’s team must include an OECD hydropower operator with extensive experience of assessing and managing climate change risks to hydropower operations (either as lead firm, consortium member or sub-contractor). Consultants not meeting this requirement will not be considered further.
The Consultant’s team will at least include the following key experts:
1. International Project Manager with preferably ten years’ experience of managing similar assignments in emerging economies, with experience of the Central Asia region, fluency in Russian an advantage.
2. International Hydropower Engineer with preferably ten years’ experience of planning and managing hydropower systems that is relevant to the hydrological and climatic conditions found in Tajikistan;
3. International Climate Change Expert with preferably ten years’ experience of assessing climate change impacts on hydropower and/or other relevant industries and sectors, with experience of the Central Asia region an advantage;
4. International Senior Hydrologist with preferably ten years’ experience of applying hydrological modelling and other relevant analytical tools in hydropower or other relevant industries/sectors, and with extensive experience of training and capacity building.
For assignment implementation it is anticipated that additional experts will be required as follows:
• International Energy Policy Expert with preferably five years’ experience of energy sector management and reform processes in emerging economies, with experience of the Central Asia region;
• Stakeholder Engagement Expert with preferably five years’ experience of stakeholder engagement and community consultation including community- and household-level surveys, with fluency in Russian a strong advantage;
• Gender Expert with preferably five years’ expertise in the areas of gender and the environment, energy, climate change or rural development, with experience of the Central Asia region, fluency in Russian is an advantage;
• Pool of local experts including deputy project manager, hydropower engineer(s), hydrologist(s), climate change expert(s) and stakeholder engagement Expert(s).
However for purposes of EOI evaluation only CVs of the key experts (1 to 4 above) will be evaluated.
Submission Requirements: Interested consultants are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest. In order to determine the qualifications and competence of consulting firms seeking to be shortlisted, the information submitted should include the following:
- company profile, organisation and staffing;
- details of previous project experience or similar assignments undertaken particularly in the previous five years, including information on contract value, contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided (if different from duration) , main activities, objectives;
- proposed consultant team composition and CVs of key experts in line with section Consultant Profile f who could be available to work on the assignment.
The above information should not exceed 25 pages excluding CVs and should be submitted as one single document. Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through eSelection to reach the Bank not later than the closing date.
Completed Consultant Declaration and Contact Sheet, the template for which is available from the following web link: http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/procurement/notices/csu/contact_sheet.doc .
The complete expression of interest (including CVs and Contact Sheet) shall be one file (pdf or Word), not exceeding 4MB, to be uploaded to eSelection. The EBRD reserves the right to reject applications of firms submitting more than one file. Only if the permissible file size is exceeded, may the Consultant split the expression of interest into further files.
Expressions of Interest shall be submitted, in English, electronically through e-Selection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date.
EBRD Contact:
Larissa Gosling
Tel: +44 20 7338 6338
Fax: +44 20 7338 7451
Email: GoslingL@ebrd.com (Expressions of Interest should be sent through eSelection, NOT to this email address)
Note: Note 1. Subject to satisfactory response to this invitation for Expression of Interest, a shortlist of qualified consultants will be formally invited to submit proposals. Shortlisting and selection will be subject to the availability of funding.
Note 2. The evaluation criteria are as follows:
a) Experience of the Consultant relevant to the assignment (previous project experience in (i) hydropower management, ii) climate change impacts assessment and management, and iii) practical application of hydrological modelling and forecasting) 40%
b) Experience of the Consultant of comparable assignments in Tajikistan and/or Central Asia 30%
c) Calibre of four key experts 30%
