Ethiopia Accelerating Distributed Tender

Project ID P171742Region AfricaCommitment Amount Us 500.00 millionTotal Project Cost Us 500.00 millionConcept DescriptionThe proposed project implements Ethiopias National electrification Program NEP Implementation Roadmap IRM and updated off-grid electrification program NEP 2.0. The proposed project supports Ethiopias plan to achieve universal access to energy by 2025 by a combination of grid and off-grid electrification 65 percent through grid and 35 percent through off-grid including pre-electrification connections5 . The Government has identified through the NEP 2.0 that 9 million off-grid connections are required to achieve coverage of 35 percent of the population through off-grid. 23. The proposed project will increase access to electricity for households commercial and industrial users and social institutions in the peri-urban rural and deep-rural areas through off-grid solutions leveraging public and private delivery modalities. The project has also focused areas of intervention on gender and citizen engagement to ensure women get access to quality reliable and affordable off-grid household energy and public lighting to reduce energy poverty and give women and men additional income-earning opportunities. 24.The design of the proposed project is underpinned by a number of analytic assessments and technical assistance supported by ESMAP and the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility PPIAF. First establishment of a GISbased off-grid tracking system for monitoring of off-grid electrification. This will be informed by experiences inside Ethiopia and abroad in establishing tracking capacity for off-grid electrification DBE Ci-Dev others. This support is key in enabling MoWIE to track and monitor progress of key performance indicators for efficiency effectiveness and progress against the off-grid electrification program targets and for course adjustments as and when necessary. Second establishment of an institutional and regulatory framework for mini-grids including capacity building and implementation support in key sector institutions. This includes support to EEA to develop a policy and regulatory framework for mini-grids among others establishment of technical standards for mini-grids establishment of licensing rules and procedures tariff setting and overall conditions for the participation of private sector investors etc. as well as design and setup of adequate institutional framework for mini-grids under EEU including potentially the creation of dedicated teams informed by results on the business models analysis. Third creation of a sound enabling environment for private sector participation in off-grid electrification especially providing technical assistance to the GoE to attract private sector innovation investment and participation in the off-grid electrification program with emphasis on working on mobile payments and access to finance solutions. Fourth developme