PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSACTION COSTS IN MICRO-UTILITIES

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSACTION COSTS IN MICRO-UTILITIES"

Emerald Cameron
7 years ago
Views:

1 1/17 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSACTION COSTS IN MICRO-UTILITIES

2 2/17 AGENDA 01 How to select a country with mini-grid potential 02 Transaction costs during project development 03 Cooperation between German and local partner

3 3/17 HOW TO SELECT A COUNTRY WITH MINI-GRID POTENTIAL Foto: A Micro-Utility connects new customers

4 4/17 Charact. of countries that are ready for private sector mini-grid investments 1. It must be legal to operate the micro-utility; microutilities should be able to obtained licenses easily. $ 2. Micro-utilities must be allowed to charge tariffs resulting in risk equivalent margins. 3. Ministries/authorities must disclose attractive villages/towns listed for mini-grid electrification.

5 5/17 WHICH COUNTRIES MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS? $ Kenya OK Cross-subsidy OK Tanzania Good Recently impl. Difficult Senegal Recently impl. OK Good Philippines OK Cross-subsidy Local subject Bangladesh OK Low end Difficult DIFFICULT TO FIND

6 6/17 WHY IS IT DIFFICULT FOR GOVTS TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS? THE POLTICAL ISSUE OF ELECTRICITY TARIFFS: Electricity in mini-grids is more expensive than electricity from the national grid. Villagers assigned to paying higher tariffs in minigrids complain through their member of parliament. Political parties allowing mini-grid customers to pay higher tariffs will not be voted for any more by those villagers. It is highly complicated to politically sell mini-grid electrification.

7 7/17 TRANSACTION COSTS DURING PROJECT DEVELOPMENT Foto: Wind-Solar-Diesel hybrid power system with battery storage for village power supply designed and operated by ENERSA S.A., Senegal

8 8/17 MANAGING COMPLEXITY / TRANSACTION COSTS Nation. authorities/ministries 1. Implementation period defined by Public Partner vs. duration to acquire permissions Nation. fiscal policy National framework level Int. Public Partners / Donors 7. Implementation period defined by Public Partners vs. due diligence duration of banks 5. Expensive CDM application procedure cannot be covered by grants CDM / UNFCCC 6. CDM only applicable with large scale projects in PoA approach 2. No coverage of foreign exchange risk Foreign investment guarantors 8. Taxation scheme in dev. countries often not transparent to SMEs 3. Low tariffs vs. costs for acquisition of permissions; cost of permission acquisition must often be neglected in tariff calculation according to regulatory authorities 4. Equity needs to be spent when available vs. permissions need unpredictable duration International support structure level Banks 9. Low total amount of capital required and low tariffs vs. high effort to acquire a loan Micro-Utility (SME) 11. MFIs often expect high immediate benefits from cooperation with microutilities and are not prepared to invest into new markets without donor support 10. Long and expensive due diligence processes MFIs Equity investors Project implementation level

9 9/17 MANAGING COMPLEXITY / TRANSACTION COSTS I 1. Implementation period defined by Public Partner vs. duration to acquire permissions Int. Public Partners / Donors 5. Expensive CDM application procedure cannot be covered by grants CDM / UNFCCC 6. CDM only applicable with large scale projects in PoA approach Nation. authorities/ministries Nation. fiscal policy 2. No coverage of foreign exchange risk Foreign investment guarantors 8. Taxation scheme in dev. countries often not transparent to SMEs Micro-Utility (SME) 3. Low tariffs vs. costs for acquisition of permissions; cost of permission acquisition must often be neglected in tariff calculation according to regulatory authorities National framework level 4. Equity needs to be spent when available vs. permissions need unpredictable duration International support structure level Equity investors

10 10/17 MANAGING COMPLEXITY / TRANSACTION COSTS II Int. Public Partners / Donors 7. Implementation period defined by Public Partners vs. due diligence duration of banks International support structure level Banks 9. Low total amount of capital required and low tariffs vs. high effort to acquire a loan Micro-Utility (SME) 11. MFIs often expect high immediate benefits from cooperation with micro-utilities and are not prepared to invest into new markets without donor support 10. Long and expensive due diligence processes MFIs Equity investors Project implementation level

11 11/17 FINANCING ALONG THE MICRO-UTILITY DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Development of adj. model Select village Political framework Company foundation and financing Model implementation Installation Operation, Maintenance Monitoring Due Diligence for replication Growth of dem. Using the political framework for replication Scale-up Replication Cashflow : Breakeven Core equity 6: 300 k 10 M Core equity 1: 20 k 100 k Core equity 2: 30 k 150 k Core equity 3: 100 k 500 k Financing gap Core equity 4: 30 k 150 k Core equity 5: 20 k 50 k Equity from impact investors, loans from development banks, etc. 0.5 M 10 M Business Plan and development subsidy PPP money or subsidies for pilot phase PPP money or subsidies for scale-up

12 12/17 THE WAY OUT OF THE DILEMMA - BIG IS BEAUTIFUL Keep track of your head management and transaction cost portion in the per kwh price If it is above 15% - THINK BIGGER! Development banks and equity investors do not like small projects If you are below 5M debt THINK BIGGER! UNFCCC does not like small projects If you are below 20t CO2 emission reduction per year THINK BIGGER! If you do not have the references to go for such big projects find a partner who has!

13 13/17 COOPERATION BETWEEN GERMAN AND LOCAL PARTNER Foto: Mini-Grid connections in the Philippines

14 14/17 MATCH YOUR CAPABILITIES COMPETENCE / EFFORT REQUIRED _ Development of a business model covering local constraints, system extension, reaction to conflicts _ Communication in villages and with rural citizens _ Technical System Design (Distribution grid / Power station / Metering System) _ Preparation of Financial Models in various forms _ Writing of the Business Plan _ Acquisition of Financial Resouces Grant, Equity, Debt _ Licensing procedures, tariff negotiations, lobbying work _ Company administration, book-keeping, management _ Construction work, installation, commissioning _ Model implementation, trainings in villages

15 15/17 THE ROLE OF THE GERMAN COMPANY Facilitator (unpaid service) Vendor of equipment Consultant (paid service) JV-Partner

16 16/17 HOW TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL LOCAL MICRO UTILITIES _ Big companies: - Well connected in politics and society - Organizational structure and infrastructure available - Slow and bureaucratic - Have their own interest and a strong lever to achieve their aims even against the international partner _ Small companies: - More reliable and flexible - Lacking resources (staff, finance, infrastructure) - Limited social/political network _ Universities: - Well connected in politics and society - Lacking resources (finance, infrastructure) - Highly welcome in villages - Sometimes lacking business focus

17 17/17 THANK YOU! 17/21 INENSUS HISTORY INENSUS GmbH Am Stollen 19D Goslar Germany Tel +49 (5321) Fax +49 (5321)

CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSFUL MODELS OF PRIVATE SECTOR MICRO-UTILITIES ------ DIPL.-ING. NICO PETERSCHMIDT MANAGING DIRECTOR INENSUS GMBH 1/20

CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSFUL MODELS OF PRIVATE SECTOR MICRO-UTILITIES ------ DIPL.-ING. NICO PETERSCHMIDT MANAGING DIRECTOR INENSUS GMBH 1/20 1/20 2/20 AGENDA 01 Best practice Micro-Utility business models 02 Overcoming classic Micro-Utility challenges 03 Overcoming the financing gap 04 Technology application strategies 3/20 DEFINITION OF MICRO-UTILITIES