Cities and Infrastructure for Growth Zambia

Position: Electricity Sector – Information Flow and Evidence Mapping Expert

Location: Lusaka, Zambia

Start Date: mid to late September 2022

Contract Duration:  9 months

Level of Effort: 40 days

About Cities and Infrastructure for Growth Zambia (CIGZambia)

CIGZambia is a facility that provides high-quality independent technical advice and assistance to Zambian government bodies and private sector organisations engaged in projects/programmes that help harness the potential of Zambia’s cities and towns to act as drivers for economic growth and job creation. Currently, CIGZambia is operating its energy component and several projects and initiatives thereunder. CIGZambia is funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

About the Project

CIGZambia has assisted Ministry of Energy in preparing a 30-year Integrated Resource Plan (“IRP”) Project covering demand, generation, transmission, distribution and off-grid segments of Zambia’s electricity sector. The IRP specifically addresses the constraints currently faced in relation to i) a narrow generation mix, ii) climate variability and risk, iii) financial sustainability and iv) grid readiness, and highlights a path of transition to a power sector that provides a high quality and affordable level of service to its customers (commercial and non-commercial), and is climate resilient, financially stable, and responsive to the needs of all members of society as customers, employees and stakeholders.

The IRP was approved by the IRP Steering Committee in July 2022 following completion of modelling and presentation of results for demand assessment, generation transmission and distribution. The planning for the off-grid sector was facilitated through the preparation of a Least Cost Geospatial Electrification Plan prepared by Tractebel and funded by World Bank. There is now need to disseminate the recommendations of the IRP to a wider group of stakeholders, and to develop a framework to oversee the implementation of the IRP including the investment plan derived from the IRP.

CIGZambia seeks to support the Ministry of Energy to maintain the energy planning systems that have been developed though the IRP by forming a new Energy Planning Unit. The scope of the systems needs to be extended beyond the systems developed in the preparation of the IRP to date to cover the distribution (below 11kV) and off-grid sectors through geospatial linked databases. The systems will be used to support the IRP implementation (including monitoring and evaluation), to provide a framework and source of information for research, policy development and information dissemination, and to enable Provincial and District level plans to be prepared.

It should be emphasised that the IRP is a wide-based long-term holistic planning process that mainstreams Climate, Gender & Inclusion and Environmental factors into energy planning, that will inform the impacts and choices of all Zambian residents with respect to energy use in future decades. The IRP consultation and implementation process will ensure that marginalised groups – including women and people living with disabilities – are involved in consultative processes with regards to access to energy, and in turn create opportunities for these groups to take part in economic activities improving their standards of living.

Critical to the success of the IRP implementation and the Energy Planning Unit is the process of collecting and analysing data and information so that the performance of the sector can be accurately measured, monitored, modelled and forecast to inform Ministry of Energy and energy sector stakeholders.

About the Role

The Information and Evidence Mapping Expert will support the implementation of the IRP and the objectives of the Energy Planning Unit by:

1. Assessing the information that is required to support the implementation of the IRP, including technical and financial performance, cross cutting factors (climate, gender & social inclusion and environment) and policy directives, identifying both historical information and projected future trends that are relevant to monitoring sector performance and informing decision makers.
2. Analysing the actual performance data collected from ERB, ZESCO, REA, SAPP and other industry stakeholders.
3. Identifying the gaps between the performance data collected, and the desired performance data.
4. Identifying best practice in energy sector data collection by analysis of information collected by international energy agencies, multi-lateral development banks, industry associations and academia.
5. Assessing the accuracy and veracity of information that is collected and reported.
6. Identifying the current information flows and institutional responsibilities for data collection.
7. Recommending improvements to processes for collecting and reporting information, and any incremental investment in systems, processes or capacity building required in order to enhance information and evidence mapping to the desired level.
8. Recommending improvements to stakeholder communication processes, to ensure that maximum benefit is obtained from circulating information to stakeholders.
9. The expert will report to the CIGZambia Team Leader for the Implementation of the IRP but will interface significantly with other members of the CIGZambia team, Ministry of Energy, IRP stakeholders, academia, industry associations and other stakeholders relevant to completion of the specified tasks.

Tasks and Responsibilities

• Analyse data and information currently collected in the Zambian energy sector within the scope of the IRP
• Identify sources of information, gaps and solutions for improvement
• Identify international best practice for data collection and analysis
• Recommend improvement in data collection processes and institutional responsibilities
• Recommend technology and system-based interventions that can improve data collection and analysis
• Propose KPIs for On-Grid and Off-Grid Sectors within the scope of the IRP
• Recommend forecasting processes (e.g. water level impacts to hydro resources)
• Recommend improvements in stakeholder communication processes within the scope of the IRP and Energy Planning Unit
• Organise and lead stakeholder workshop in conjunction with CIGZambia team and Ministry of Energy to present findings and recommendations, and secure stakeholder endorsement

Key Deliverables

Deliverable 1 – Inception Report on data collection processes and gap analysis
Deliverable 2 – Final report on recommended data collection processes, institutional responsibilities, capacity building, system requirements, KPIs and stakeholder communication
Deliverable 3 – Workshop materials for Energy Sector Information Flow and Evidence Mapping Workshop

Key Qualifications and Requirements

• Post Graduate degree in Energy, Mathematics, Data Analytics or a similar discipline
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in research and report writing in an Academic or Government environment
• Demonstrable knowledge of off-grid and on-grid energy systems (knowledge of Zambian environment and advantage)
• Demonstrable knowledge of linkages of energy systems to climate, social, economic and environmental systems
• Demonstrable knowledge of the institutional framework of Government and systems for data collection (knowledge of Zambian environment and advantage)
• Demonstrable skills in written and verbal communication and proven reporting writing skills to high professional standards