Tariff Development Consultant

This is a remote position.

Tariff Development Consultant

Background

The Caribbean Business Enabling Environment Reform Activity (CBEE-R) is a three-year regional project in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean (ESC) that aims to assist five ESC countries develop an improved enabling environment for resilient business and investment and engage the private sector in policy assessment, development, and implementation. Those five ESC countries include The Bahamas, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Lucia, and Suriname.

The National Utilities Regulatory Commission (NURC), established by the National Utilities Regulatory Commission Act of 2016, is responsible for the regulation of water supply services, sewerage services, and electricity supply services in Saint Lucia. As the economic regulator of electricity supply services, the NURC is responsible for the review of the basic energy rates charged by St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC), as per Section 35 of the Electricity Supply Act Cap. 9.02 of the Revised Laws of Saint Lucia 2020. According to Section 35 (1) (c) of the Electricity Supply Act, the review of the basic energy rates which are calculated in accordance with the Act and charged by the Company should be conducted not more than once at the end of every five years.

Although the NURC has been empowered by the NURC Act of 2016 to regulate the energy sector, the full suite of legislation and regulations that would allow for optimum sector regulation has not been passed. Consequently, the NURC is currently unable to derive revenue from the regulated electric utility. This resource constraint limits the ability of the NURC to engage in capacity building and other activities aimed at strengthening the legislative and regulatory framework for the energy sector.

Moreover, the Government of Saint Lucia is expected to enact new electricity legislation by the end of 2024, which will necessitate a shift in the economic and technical regulation of the sector. Once the new legislation is passed, the NURC will be responsible for the procurement and regulation of energy from renewable sources, including the development and review of a tariff regime for electricity generated from renewable sources. In light of the NURC’s role in determining, approving, and reviewing basic energy rates for the electricity sector, the NURC is seeking capacity-building support for its staff in this area. Therefore, to facilitate this process, CBEE-R will recruit a Tariff Development Consultant to provide training for the staff of NURC and advice on the tariff development process for renewable energy.

This assignment is short-term, and the level of effort will be 90 days within a six-month period. The Tariff Development Consultant will report to the CBEE-R Business Enabling Environment Advisor.

Objective

The objective of this project is to strengthen the NURC to be better prepared to overcome the challenges of regulating the energy sector in a way that helps to meet the sector’s goals of increased renewable energy and greater energy efficiency. Therefore, the Tariff Development Consultant will be responsible for providing training to the staff of NURC in tariff development, particularly for renewable energy to meet the demands of the proposed reformed legal and regulatory framework. Using international best practices, the Tariff Development Consultant will also provide advice and guidance to the staff of NURC on the design and adoption of appropriate license fees for the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources, procedural rules to administer tariff proceedings, and general economic regulation of the sector.

Job Description

The Tariff Development Consultant will work with the CBEE-R team and the NURC to:

1. Provide training to NURC staff in the development of tariff schemes or regulatory regimes for the electricity sector in accordance with the provisions of the new Electricity Tariff Regulations (revenue cap approach), including the supervision of their implementation.
   

2. Provide training to NURC staff in the development of regulatory financial models that combine all the building blocks of the regulatory price-setting process within a full accounting framework.
   

3. Conduct training in the evaluation of rate review applications submitted by the Electricity Utility, in accordance with the provisions of the new Act and Tariff Regulations.
   

4. Assist NURC staff in designing appropriate information templates for submission to the Electricity Utility to facilitate the assessment of their proposed tariff scheme after a scheduled tariff review is conducted.
   

5. Advise on the design and adoption of appropriate license fees for the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources by various classes of generators and provide a report on international best practices in deriving appropriate license fees for renewable energy generation in the context of Saint Lucia’s new Electricity Legislation.
   

6. Provide advice/guidance on the establishment of NURC’s procedural rules to administer tariff proceedings, in accordance with Saint Lucia’s new Electricity Legislation.
   

7. Provide general guidance to NURC staff in the economic regulation of the Electricity Utility after enactment of the new legislation.
   

Qualifications

The candidate shall have the following knowledge, experience, and qualifications:

• A degree in Economics/Econometrics, Finance, or any other related discipline;
  

• 5+ years of experience in tariff development – undertaking regulatory tariff reviews and utility rate studies for electricity utilities. Prior experience in rate setting in the Caribbean or other island systems would be an asset;
  

• Knowledge of Saint Lucia’s electricity sector with respect to legislation, policy, and regulations;
  

• International experience and knowledge of rate setting using incentive-based regulation (revenue cap, price cap);
  

• A strong understanding of the technical and economic facets of electric utility planning, investment, operations, and pricing;
  

• Strong financial modeling and analytical skills;
  

• Expertise in undertaking cost-of-service studies and bill impact assessments;
  

• Expertise in demand forecasting and application of econometric techniques;
  

• Knowledge and understanding of the social considerations associated with setting electricity rates;
  

• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English;
  

• Excellent organizational skills;
  

• Proven communication, facilitation, and presentation skills, and
  

• Ability to work in an environment requiring liaising and collaborating with multiple actors including government officials and personnel, private sector representatives, international organizations, and other stakeholders.
  

Deliverables:

• Training Plan & Modules for the following:
  

  • development, supervision, and implementation of tariff schemes or regulatory regimes for Saint Lucia’s electricity sector;
    

  • development of regulatory financial models for Saint Lucia’s electricity sector; and
    

  • evaluation of rate review applications submitted by the Electricity Utility
    

• At least three comprehensive training workshops conducted covering the above modules/topics
  

• Information Templates for the assessment of the tariff scheme proposed by the Electricity Utility
  

• Report on international best practices in deriving appropriate license fees for renewable energy generation including recommendations on the design and adoption of appropriate license fees for the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources by various classes of generators in the context of Saint Lucia’s new Electricity Legislation
  

• Report containing recommended procedural rules for the administration of tariff proceedings by the NURC
  

• Meetings (virtual or otherwise) convened to provide advice/guidance on Tasks 5, 6, and 7 above.