[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 157 (Thursday, August 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47684-47687]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19196]


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MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

[MCC FR 14-04]


Notice of Entering Into a Compact With the Republic of Ghana

AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 610(b)(2) of the Millennium 
Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701-7718), the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation (MCC) is publishing a summary of the Millennium Challenge 
Compact between the United States of America, acting through the 
Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Republic of Ghana. 
Representatives of the United States Government and Ghana executed the 
Compact documents on August 5, 2014. The complete text of the Compact 
has been posted at mcc.gov.

    Dated: August 8, 2014.
John C. Mantini,
Assistant General Counsel, Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Summary of Millennium Challenge Compact With the Republic of Ghana

1. Overview

    MCC's Board of Directors has approved a five-year, $498.2 million 
compact with the Republic of Ghana aimed at reducing poverty and 
accelerating economic growth (the ``Compact''). The Compact is intended 
to assist the Government of Ghana (``GoG'') to increase economic growth 
by addressing problems in the power sector through private sector 
investment in power generation and distribution as well as improvements 
that will reduce load shedding, power losses, and outages that 
currently affect millions of Ghanaians (the ``Program''). The Program 
will support the turnaround of Ghana's electricity sector and stimulate 
private investment to create a self-sustaining sector meeting the 
current and future needs of households and business while ensuring 
inclusive access to power by its citizens.

2. Program Overview and Budget

    The Compact focuses on turning around the main public electricity 
distribution company through the introduction of private sector 
participation as well as targeted infrastructure investments and 
reforms in power generation. The targeted investments and reforms will 
jointly contribute to a more functional, credit worthy, and self-
sustaining power sector.
    Due to the desire to create sustainable change and economic growth, 
MCC has made the Compact contingent on private sector participation 
(``PSP'') as well as reforms intented to improve the financial position 
of the distribution utilities, enable gas supply for the energy sector, 
and ensure a cost reflective tariff regime. In addition, MCC included a 
second tranche of conditional program funding to be made available only 
if essential reforms milestones are met, including actual 
implementation of the PSP transaction and continued progress toward a 
cost reflective tariff.
    The Compact includes base funding of $308.2 million and conditional 
funding of up to $190 million which would be released only after 
significant agreed-upon reforms are adopted by the GoG. The budget is 
shown in Figure 1 below.

[[Page 47685]]



                                Figure 1: Proposed Ghana Compact Budget Overview
                                   [Compact budget overview (millions of US$)]
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                                                                                  MCC Tranche II
                                                                   MCC Tranche I   (conditional      Potential
                            Projects                              (base funding)     incentive       total MCC
                                                                                     funding)         funding
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ECG Financial & Operational Turnaround Project..................           149.6             190  ..............
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NEDCo Financial & Operational Turnaround Project................            54.2  ..............  ..............
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Regulatory Strengthening & Capacity Building Project............             5.0  ..............  ..............
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Access Project..................................................            10.0  ..............  ..............
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Power Generation Sector Improvement Project.....................            16.3  ..............           498.2
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Energy Efficiency & Demand Side Mgmt. Project...................            25.4  ..............  ..............
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Monitoring & Evaluation.........................................             7.6  ..............  ..............
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Program Administration and Oversight............................            40.2  ..............  ..............
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    Total Investment............................................       \1\ 308.2             190  ..............
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    As the  required conditions are met, the Tranche II funding that is 
part of the overall Compact will be allocated to the Electric Company 
of Ghana Financial and Operational Turnaround Project. If the 
conditions to the release of Tranche II funding are not met within two 
years of Entry into Force of the Compact, the $190 million will be de-
obligated from the Compact.
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    \1\ Numbers do not add due to rounding.
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    The Government of Ghana will contribute at least 7.5 percent of the 
total amount of MCC funding towards the implementation of the Compact.
    The Program can be divided into two general areas: Projects that 
focus on the distribution sector, and projects that focus on the 
generation sector.

3. Distribution Sector Investments

Utility Reforms: Electricity Company of Ghana (``ECG'') and Northern 
Electricity Distribution Company (``NEDCo'') Financial and Operational 
Turnaround Project
    The ECG Financial and Operational Turnaround Project, totaling 
$149.6 million, pursues a two-pronged approach--changing the governance 
and management of this Ghanaian electric utility by bringing in a 
private sector operator coupled with infrastructure and foundational 
investments designed largely to reduce losses and improve service 
quality. Specifically, the Project contains the following five 
interconnected activities:
     Private Sector Participation. Accepting the reform program 
as a condition of the Compact will signal Ghana's willingness to take 
bold moves to improve an underperforming sector that drags down 
economic growth in the country.
     Modernizing Utility Operations. Investments to support 
integrated loss management, such as technical assistance, to provide 
overall project management support.
     Reduction in Commercial Losses and Improvement of Revenue 
Collection. Reducing distribution system vulnerability to theft and 
meter manipulation and improving metering systems, including 
installation of pre-paid meters.
     Technical Loss Reduction. Interventions focused on 
lowering thermal losses in the distribution systems.
     Outage Reduction. Reducing both the frequency and duration 
of outages by introducing improved system protection and sectionalizing 
devices in the distribution system.
    The estimated economic rate of return (``ERR'') for the ECG 
Financial and Operational Turnaround Project is 19 percent. The initial 
estimated beneficiaries of this Project are 4.8 million people in the 
short term and 7.8 million people long-term.
    The NEDCo Financial and Operational Turnaround Project will 
initially provide $5 million in technical assistance to improve 
operations of NEDCo. No later than the conclusion of the first year of 
Compact implementation, MCC will evaluate ERRs for possible system and 
infrastructure investments and if resulting ERRs are acceptable, MCC 
will make investments up to $49.2 million.
Regulatory Strengthening and Capacity Building Project
    The activities under the Regulatory Strengthening and Capacity 
Building Project, which totals $5 million, are two-fold--tariff review, 
focused on the process of ratemaking and more specifically on the 
structure of tariffs, and capacity building of the sector performance 
monitoring capabilities to ensure better reporting:
     Sector Performance Monitoring Capacity Building. Improving 
the regulatory monitoring and independent verification of sector 
performance.
     Tariff Review and Regulation. Improving the tariff review 
process by supporting studies that will provide critical inputs to the 
redesign of the tariff structure prior to implementation of the PSP and 
the next round of ratemaking and technical assistance to the 
regulators.
    The economic and beneficiary analyses combine the Regulatory 
Strengthening and Capacity Building Project with the ECG Financial and 
Operational Turnaround Project calculations as the results of the two 
Projects are closely linked.
Access Project
    The Access Project, totaling $10 million, will test the most cost 
effective approaches to address the key constraints that micro, small 
and medium enterprises (``MSMEs'') face in obtaining safe and legal 
access to electricity. This small Project is designed to be innovative 
and experimental--it will test several different interventions aimed at 
reducing critical barriers to legal

[[Page 47686]]

connections for MSMEs in a small sample of markets and economic 
enclaves and provide evidence of effective approaches to increasing 
legal access for the distribution utilities. In addition to the direct 
benefits the Project would have for the MSMEs, increasing access will 
also expand the customer base of the utilities to include these 
important stakeholders and ensure that they are beneficiaries of 
improvements in the Ghanaian power sector. The Access Project will also 
address the problems caused by illegal connections, improve safety and 
security in target areas, and strengthen relationships between end 
users, local government, and the utility companies. The Project 
includes two activities:
     Improving Electricity Supply to MSMEs and Social 
Institutions. Upgrades will be made to target selected markets and 
economic enclaves that are within the intervention sites of the ECG and 
NEDCo Financial and Operational Turnaround Projects, and to the extent 
possible, nearby social institutions. The activity will also provide 
metered public lighting in the targeted areas.
     Improving Service Delivery and Strengthening Partnerships. 
This activity will seek to alleviate the various barriers (including a 
high connection fee, cumbersome connection processes and weak 
coordination among key actors including utility companies, local 
government and the communities) that prevent MSMEs from having legal 
access to electricity.
    These activities are expected to contribute to increased incomes 
for MSMEs; firm ERRs for this Project, however, are not yet available. 
At this time, data needed to undertake an assessment of the proposed 
intervention is still being collected. Robust economic evaluations will 
identify promising interventions that could be scaled up during or 
after the compact and will provide evidence of effective strategies for 
increasing access to electricity in markets and enclaves across Ghana.

4. Generation Sector Investments

    The generation sector investments adopt two strategies to make more 
energy available. The first is to make better use of the electricity 
already in the system by reducing waste. The second is to foster an 
enabling environment for investments to expand generation capacity.
Power Generation Sector Improvement Project
    This $16.3 million Project prioritizes the alleviation of major 
constraints to private sector investment in generation through the 
following three activities:
     Operationalize the ``Gas to Power'' Value Chain. The lack 
of reliable fuel supply is a significant barrier to securing affordable 
and sustainable generation capacity and has led to unplanned load 
shedding and outages in the past few years. The Compact will leverage 
ongoing advisory support provided by USAID by providing both the 
impetus to act (achievable, action-oriented conditions precedent linked 
to first disbursement of project funds) and continued support to the 
GoG to ensure that decisions regarding institutionalization, 
commercialization, and securitization of the gas sector are informed 
and serve Ghana's best interest.
     Facilitate Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Development. 
Studies have shown that even with gas from domestic sources and the 
West African Gas Pipeline, Ghana will need additional fuel to support 
projected increases in electricity demand. The private sector has 
expressed an interest in building the required infrastructure 
associated with importing LNG and MCC is funding the technical 
feasibility studies required to provide a `shovel-ready' project.
     Strengthen Sector Planning and IPP Framework. Ghana does 
not have an active and integrated master plan to guide the development 
of its growing energy sector, or an established competitive process for 
procuring Independent Power Providers (``IPPs''). This has led to 
uneven, opaque, and costly additions to capacity that may not be 
consistent with a least cost plan. The activity will support the 
development of a least cost plan that addresses generation, 
transmission, distribution and demand side management in a holistic and 
integrated fashion, as well as capacity building within the entities 
responsible for sector planning. It will also allow the Government to 
conduct more effective strategic planning for the electricity grid and 
off grid systems and provide generation capacity from both traditional 
and renewable sources.
    The estimated ERR for this Project is 24 percent. The initial 
beneficiaries of the Project are 19.6 million people and the long-term 
beneficiaries are 41.8 million people.\2\
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    \2\ This is a 20-year projection based on a population growth 
rate of 2.3 percent.
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Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management Project
    Energy efficiency and demand-side management policies and 
investments represent some of the most cost-effective means to bridge 
the gap between supply and demand, serving as sources of new energy 
supply. Reducing energy waste on the consumer side of the electricity 
meter decreases the growth of demand and reduces the investment that is 
needed in the electricity system to maintain needed capacity and 
reliability. This $25.4 million Project includes four activities:
     Development and Enforcement of Standards and Labels. Most 
energy-using products do not have standards or labelling requirements 
and the standards that do exist would benefit greatly from technical 
updates and enforcement support.
     Improved Energy Auditing. Energy efficiency auditing and 
energy services company market support includes technical capacity-
building for energy efficiency and energy management professionals.
     Education and Public Information. Awareness, education, 
and information activities help assure that both technical workers and 
the general public are aware of cost-effective energy saving 
opportunities.
     Demand Side Management Infrastructure. This activity would 
support piloting of distributed applications such as solar photo 
voltaic back-up power for lighting and electronics, off-grid solar 
systems, and grid-connected solar systems as well as the conversion of 
conventional street lights to LED street lighting.

The estimated ERR for this Project is 27 percent. The estimated 
beneficiaries for this Project are 19.6 million people in the short 
term and 41.8 million people long-term.\3\
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    \3\ See footnote 2.
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5. Policy Reform Milestones

    The Compact is tied to a number of reforms, specifically: Improving 
the creditworthiness of ECG, ensuring reliable gas supply for power 
generation, instituting a cost reflective tariff, and commercialization 
of the distribution utilities. The GoG has given MCC certain assurances 
through the negotiations process of its support for the policy, 
regulatory, and institutional reform agenda reflected in the Compact 
and associated conditions precedent, and that indeed those reforms in 
the Program are in line with actions the GoG is already taking and 
believes are necessary to ensuring a well-performing energy sector. The 
proposed two tranche approach to Compact funding was also discussed 
with the GoG and accepted as an important component of the program 
design.
    MCC required the GoG to meet a set of five policy reform milestones 
prior to presenting the Compact to the Board for approval. In line with 
its commitment to

[[Page 47687]]

the Compact, the GoG has met each of these milestones, as described 
below.
     Approval of the Gas Sector Action Plan. An acceptable 
short-term Gas Sector Action Plan was submitted to MCC by the Minister 
of Energy and Petroleum. The GoG, with the support of the World Bank, 
is currently drafting a comprehensive long-term gas sector master plan, 
which will be complete by the end of 2014. Approval of the terms of 
that gas sector master plan by MCC and its adoption by the GoG are 
conditions to entry into force of the Compact.
     Finalize the Jubilee gas supply agreement. The Ghana 
National Gas Company (``GNGC'') and Jubilee Partners have signed the 
agreement related to infrastructure needed for gas supply from the 
Jubilee gas fields. This agreement facilitates the completion of 
infrastructure by GNGC that complements private sector infrastructure 
and is a necessary predicate to commercial agreements to be signed in 
the future.
     Agree to PSP option for ECG and NEDCo. The details of the 
agreement were discussed during Compact negotiations and are 
memorialized in the compact document.
     Submit an action plan to substantially reduce GoG arrears 
to ECG and implement plan to move Government Ministries, Departments 
and Agencies to regular and current payment of utility bills. The 
Minister of Finance provided a letter to MCC on June 30, 2014 detailing 
the total amount of arrears owed to ECG by the GoG and outlining a 
projected path to repayment.
     Continue quarterly tariff adjustments. Ghana's utility 
regulator, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, announced a 
quarterly tariff adjustment on June 27, 2014. The new tariff took 
effect on July 1, 2014.
    These were not easy milestones to meet, and they are instrumental 
to achieving the deep and lasting change MCC and the GoG want to 
achieve in the energy sector through the Compact. MCC is confident that 
the GoG's strong commitment to reform will continue as the Program 
moves forward.

[FR Doc. 2014-19196 Filed 8-13-14; 8:45 am]
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