Understanding Power Project Procurement

As part of the "Understanding Series" of reference handbooks published by Power Africa, in September 2017, CLDP (in partnership with the African Legal Support Facility) brought together a group of world-class legal, policy and regulatory experts to draft a guide on power project procurement. The new handbook, Understanding Power Project Procurement, is the culmination of extensive consultations with public and private sector stakeholders from Africa and the United States. The handbook is intended to serve as a practical resource for decision-makers on the policy and strategy behind the procurement of power projects.

As part of the "Understanding Series" of reference handbooks published by Power Africa, in February 2016, CLDP (in partnership with the African Legal Support Facility) brought together a group of world-class legal, policy and financial experts to draft a guide on power project financing. The new handbook, Understanding Power Project Financing, is the culmination of months of consultations with public and private sector stakeholders from Africa, the United States and Europe. The handbook is intended to provide decision-makers with an overview of the structuring of private investment and financing for power projects and insight into the important supporting role that governments play.

30 January 2015

“Understanding Power Purchase Agreements” brings together insights from government, financial and private sector experts to identify best practices for structuring and balancing power project contracts. As part of a week-long series of programs focused on expanding access to power in Sub-Saharan Africa as part of President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, the Commercial Law Development Program officially launched the print version of the “Understanding Power Purchase Agreements” handbook. The development and drafting of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Handbook, which was funded by USAID and conducted through a partnership between CLDP and the Africa Legal Support Facility, explains the core elements of a PPA and provides the reader with an understanding of the balancing of risk between the developer, financier and host government that is necessary to reach bankability. The hope is that this open-source knowledge sharing tool can help shorted the multi-year negotiations required for PPAs by reducing misconceptions and building a consensus around best practices.

The updated version of the book, Version 1.2, was first made available on January 22 through CLDP’s website. On January 27, CLDP participated in a Twitter chat with other USG agencies to highlight the PPA Handbook and other Commerce efforts to support Power Africa. On January 28, the PPA Handbook was held out by both USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and Power Africa Coordinator Andy Herscowitz as a key example of the knowledge building efforts within Power Africa at the Power Africa Private Sector Partners Meeting. On January 29 and 30, CLDP distributed print copies of the PPA Handbook as part of the Powering Africa Summit, where Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Matthew Murray, highlighted the important role the handbook will play in building trust between the private sector and Africa governments as part of his remarks to the conference delegates. The PPA Handbook was well received at all three events and has already garnered significant praise from the power community.

Additional detail on the diverse groups of authors who contributed to the book, the drafting process and the consultations that established the need for this resource can be found here: http://go.usa.gov/FBzH.

CLDP's mission is to improve the legal environment for doing business in developing and transitional countries around the globe and thereby foster greater political stability and economic opportunity for local entrepreneurs and U.S. companies alike. CLDP serves as a resource for federal agencies, US businesses, foreign governments and foreign businesses by organizing seminars, workshops, and conferences and by providing training consultations in the US and other countries for foreign delegations. CLDP attorneys, resident advisors, program specialists and administrative personnel are multicultural and have expertise in international business, commercial law, trade relations and development assistance. When designing and implementing programs, CLDP also draws on expertise from various US Government agencies, multilateral and international organizations, educational institutions and the private sector.