Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management Project

Under this project, several policy initiatives and programs will be undertaken aimed at ensuring energy efficiency and conservation in the use of the available capacity.  These activities are organized into four groupings:

1. Development and Enforcement of Standards and Labels Activity – which will develop the regulation and enforcement for the use of higher efficiency appliances, aimed at saving overall energy consumption.

2. Improved Energy Auditing Activity – which will build national capacity in energy auditing through establishing training centres and implementing programs for evaluating energy consumption and determining ways to save and conserve energy.
 
3. Education and Public Information Activity - will sensitize the public about energy efficiency and conservation through behavioral change.

4. Demand Side Management Infrastructure Activity - which involves undertaking a pilot solar program and getting the public to  use solar systems for addressing the high lighting loads, as well as installation of energy efficient street lighting to replace existing high energy consuming street lights.

The project will significantly reduce peak demand, ensure adequate supply for all and reduce investments in expensive additional generation facilities. Increase in customer knowledge and use of energy efficiency products will result in savings for households and businesses.

Regulatory Strengthening and Capacity Building Project

The Regulatory Strengthening and Capacity Building Project is aimed at improving the regulatory and policy environment, and consists of two main activities:

1. Sector Performance Monitoring  Capacity Building Activity.
This activity will provide capacity building to sector agencies such as PURC, Energy Commission and the Ministry of Power to enable them perform improved monitoring and supervision of the utilities.

2. Tariff Review and Regulation Activity.
This activity seeks to review and restructure the tariff to ensure a rigorous and responsive regulatory environment as well as strengthening ratemaking and other regulatory processes through tariff studies.

Against the backdrop of the need for Ghana’s Power Sector to be financially self-sustaining and less reliant on cross-subsidies, these activities will ensure a more transparent and responsive regulatory environment, which is key for sustainable national development. Utilities and investors will benefit greatly from good return on investment as a result of economic and cost-reflective tariffs, which ultimately improves the financial health of the power sector.

ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project.

The ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project consists of four Activities(listed below) that, taken together, are intended to:
1. Reduce implicit subsidies (created by losses, underpricing and under-billing).
2. Ensure that ECG runs on sound commercial principles to become creditworthy and serve as a credible off-taker
    under power purchase agreements.
3. Ensure that ECG recovers its costs and invests in maintenance and expansion without requiring regular financial
    support from the Government.

The underlisted interventions are designed to reduce technical, commercial, and collection losses and improve service quality.

(i) Modernizing Utility Operations Activity
The Modernizing Utility Operations Activity is designed to introduce modern tools to ECG, build the capacity of ECG’s staff to use the tools, and provide a robust communication network for ECG. It also includes a number of interventions aimed at network improvements.

Successful implementation of this activity will benefit consumers as follows:  

• Improved operational efficiency through the use of new and improved ICT technologies for data capture, planning and implementation of projects.
• Faster identification and resolution of technical challenges and improved customer satisfaction.

(ii) Reduction in Commercial Losses and Improvement of Revenue Collection Rates Activity
ECG loses a significant amount of money each year because of theft, illegal connections, meter tampering and other irregularities which cause inaccurate count of the energy used by a consumer. Another significant loss of revenue arises from collection inefficiency where energy used by consumers is not paid for. This activity, when successfully implemented, will reduce commercial and collection losses, and make more funds available to the power utility for continuous re-investment in the distribution infrastructure to meet energy demands.

(iii)Technical Loss Reduction Activity
Technical losses are essentially thermal losses in the wires and transformers that carry electricity from generating plants to consumers in homes, factories and offices and depends on the characteristics of the electric network. The loss of energy in the existing electrical distribution network leads to huge losses in revenue for ECG, and deprives it of the much needed funds for re-investment in infrastructure. The interventions under this Activity will result in lowering these thermal losses and improve the financial position of ECG.

(iv) Outage Reduction Activity
Outages cause ECG to lose money from unrealized electricity sales and undermine consumer confidence in the utility’s ability to provide reliable service. The Outage Reduction Activity will improve service and increase sales.

The Ghana Compact II recognizes that gender inequality is one of the major constraints to economic growth. Gender and Social Integration is therefore one of the key requirements for ensuring economic growth that effectively takes account of gender and social inclusion.

In Compact II, The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) is ensuring equitable access to energy by using targeted approaches to take account of gender disparities in access to credit, land and information; affordable connection fee for vulnerable groups and women owned businesses; electrification of social infrastructure that offers high benefits to women; and promoting productive uses of energy for men and women. Through its partnership strengthening intervention MiDA will develop the capacity of trade associations, including market women associations to better engage in dialogue with their respective authorities and utility companies and voice their concerns. 

Objectives:
The MiDA Gender and Social Inclusion Directorate is responsible for ensuring a gender responsive and socially inclusive electricity delivery. The Directorate’s key areas of work are: 
• Promoting consultation and engagement with women, vulnerable groups CSOs, CBOs, government institutions
   and the private sector.
• Ensuring gender responsive and socially inclusive project implementation 
• Promoting institutional development of gender and energy organizations for improving gender and social
   inclusion practices, as well as advocating for change in gender relations in the energy sector.
• Enhancing the quality of gender and gender relations in MiDA.

The Compact requires the development of a Social and Gender Integration Plan (SGIP)to ensure systematic gender and social inclusion in Compact project and activities. It highlights particular social and gender-based constraints and risks across sectors that need to be 
mitigated, and identifies opportunities for enhancing benefits for women and potentially marginalized groups.

The SGIP has been developed to ensure systematic direction during the design, assessment, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Compact as a way of ensuring that women and men, including vulnerable groups, equally participate in and benefit from all Compact projects and activities. It also functions as a reference document for other sectors, Implementing Entities, Contractors, Consultants and Suppliers.

Benefits:
The benefits of addressing gender and social inclusion in Compact II include:
• Enhanced voice and agency of women and other disadvantaged groups /associations to demand for efficient and
   reliable electricity delivery.
• Improved personal security and reduction in violence against women, girls and other deprived groups.
• Safe and secure work environments, particularly in markets and economic enclaves. 
• Increased employment opportunities for women and disadvantaged groups in the electricity /energy sector.
• Enhanced earning potential for women and men
• Raised earning potential for self-employment for women from increased lighting and access to electricity leading
   to improved social outcomes for men and women.
• Increased productivity of women’s businesses through cost effective and reliable electricity supply.
• Greater recognition of women’s contributions to the energy sector.
• Equal opportunities for women and men in the workplace, businesses and energy sector as a whole.
• Improved career opportunities for young women and men in the energy sector
• Unequal gender relations within the energy sector transformed for the benefit diverse groups of women and
   men.
• Improved governance and representation of women in in senior management positions in the energy sector.
• Full participation of women in the energy sector.
• Improved workplace environment.
• Efficient and effective organizations.
• Stakeholder satisfaction. 

Ghanaians are encouraged to support Gender and Social Inclusion Activities at MiDA because our work contributes immensely to achieving a more socially inclusive and gender equitable society where poverty reduction will be attained through economic growth in Ghana.

Working through Partnerships

MiDA collaborates with stakeholders to achieve its objectives. Key stakeholders for its gender and social inclusion objectives are Gender and Energy organizations and institutions, networks and individual experts from government, civil society, educational institutions and the private sector.  

Implementing Entities

• Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)
• Energy Commission (EC)
• Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC)
• Ministry of Power
• Ministry of Petroleum
• Ministry of Gender, Children & Social Protection
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Local Government
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Land Valuation Board
• Ghana Standards Authority (GSA)
• Volta River Authority (VRA)
• National Development Planning 
• Commission (NDPC)
• Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA)

The objective of the environmental and social performance of the Ghana Power compact is to develop, adopt and implement a set of good environmental and social management systems consistent with best practice. This is critical for ensuring smooth running of project activities and avoids delays. It safeguards the safety and security of workers and the inhabitants of the affected communities, ensures cost effectiveness of planned interventions, achieves the buy-in of all key stakeholders and promotes sustainable development of planned interventions. It is again required by law to ensure all compact funded projects and activities comply with the applicable national laws and regulations of Ghana.

To this end, MiDA shall ensure that all projects are developed and implemented consistent with the requirements of the following: Ghana’s EPA laws and regulations (Act 490, 1994), applicable social and labor laws of Ghana, MCC environmental guidelines, MCC health and safety policy, MCC gender policy, and International Finance Corporation (IFC) performance standards on environment and social sustainability.

The project design will ensure that the principles of environmental and social soundness are adhered to at all times. This will be achieved by ensuring project design considers all possible alternatives with respect to the siting of power substations and routing of distribution lines.  This will help minimize potential environmental, health and safety impact on affected communities and reduce cost with respect to economic and social displacement of project-affected persons. MiDA will ensure that closer and effective collaboration is promoted betweenMiDA and all relevant stakeholders at the project design stage.

Finally, Site-specific Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) will be developed for all activities identified as having the potential to adversely impact on the environment. Subsequent to this, relevant, adequate and site-specific Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP), Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs), Health and Safety Management Plans (HSMP) will be developed and implemented to mitigate and monitor risk associated with infrastructural activities.

A focus on results is at the heart of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) development model. As a result, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is an important component of program design and is incorporated into all facets of Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) programs.

The objective of MiDA’s  M&E activities is to enhance the generation of good quality Monitoring and Evaluation evidence, which will be integrated into MiDA and MCC decision making processes to provide greater accountability and a strong evidence based decision making and learning.

Under the Ghana Power Compact, the M&EE Directorate has the responsibility for ensuring the implementation of the overall M&E strategy to periodically measure, report and communicate the performance, results and impact of the Compact to its stakeholders. This process is guided by the M&E Plan which:

• Describes the program logic and expected results as well as estimates of economic rate of returns. Gives details about what impact the Compact and each of the 6 projects are expected to produce and how these effects will be achieved in the short, medium and long term;
• Sets out data and reporting requirements and quality control procedures. Defines indicators, identifies data sources and frequency of data collection in order to define how results will be measured. Outlines information flow from projects to stakeholders both for public consumption and to inform decision-making and describes the mechanisms that ensures quality, reliability and accuracy of program performance information;
• Establishes a performance monitoring framework. Establishes a process to alert implementers, MiDA management, stakeholders, and MCC to whether or not the program is achieving its major milestones during program implementation, and provides a basis for making program adjustments;
• Describes the evaluation plan. Explains in detail how MiDA and MCC will evaluate whether or not the interventions achieve their intended results and expected impacts over time and;
• Describes M&E staff roles and responsibilities.