Rapò Fèmti Pwojè Pilot USAID/HAÏTI pou Distribisyon Dirab Elektrisite (PPSELD)

USAID/HAITI Pilot Project for Sustainable Electricity Distribution (PPSELD) Closeout Report Prepared by NRECA International for USAID Contract No. 72052120C00002 February 2022 This document is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of NRECA International and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. This document is confidential and proprietary. Contents List of Acronyms and Abbreviations...........................................................................................................iii Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................iv Introduction...................................................................................................................................................1 Task 1 Provide Reliable and Efficient Electricity Service............................................................................2 Commercial and customer service department...........................................................................................2 Electricity delivered, sales and losses ........................................................................................................3 Tariffs…………….....................................................................................................................................7 Customer Service - Meters reading, billing and collections.......................................................................9 Task 2 Operate and maintain the 10 MW generation plant, distribution grid, and ancillary equipment ....12 Electricity power generation plant ...........................................................................................................12 Preventive maintenance............................................................................................................................15 Laboratory tests........................................................................................................................................18 Electricity Distribution System ................................................................................................................18 Task 3. Reduce Non-technical Electricity Loss by Increasing Metered Customers. ..................................22 Customer normalization and connection of new clients...........................................................................22 Electricity loss reduction program ...........................................................................................................23 Task 4 Facilitate transition to future private operator.................................................................................25 NRECA International Page ii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations CCEP Caracol Community Electrification Program CIP Caracol Industrial Park EdH Electricite d’Haiti GIS Geographic Information System GOH Government of Haiti HTG Haiti Gourde IDB InterAmerican Development Bank kWh Kilowatt-hours LV Low Voltage MV Medium Voltage MW Megawatts MWh Megawatt hours NRECA NRECA International PPSELD Pilot Project for Sustainable Electricity Distribution USAID United States Agency for International Development USD United States Dollars NRECA International Page iii Executive Summary The Government of Haiti (GoH), with the support of USAID, is implementing a program to expand the electrification of Haiti. This program aims to attract private investment for the 10 regional departments, including the Project for Sustainable Electricity Distribution - PPSELD service area. In 2020, USAID and NRECA International (NRECA) signed a contract for the continued management and operation of the PPSELD utility. This contract period is called the Project for Sustainable Electricity Distribution - Transition, or PSELD-T. The most significant event that affected the operations of PPSELD in the two years of project implementation was the COVID-19 pandemic. PSELD-T adopted and implemented social distancing and hygiene protocols issued by the health authorities, and other measures to ensure the safety of PPSELD clients and employees. Despite COVID-19 restrictions, NRECA continued to comply with the technical, operational, commercial and customer service requirements to ensure efficient operation of the PPSELD utility. As a result, very high levels of service quality and reliability were achieved and maintained through PSELD-T project period. High levels of performance were maintained for quality of electricity service, collection rates as well as loss control The PSELD-T project consisted of four tasks designed to ensure high levels of performance in preparation for the transfer of utility management from NRECA to a new, private operator. Task 1 was focused to provide reliable and efficient electricity service throughout the PPSELD utility service area. To achieve this objective, NRECA team members oversaw local PPSELD utility generation and distribution administrative, operational and commercial staff to ensure excellence in distribution system operation, billing and collections, loss management, and multiple customer service activities including connection of new consumers, disconnections, registration of complaints and addressing customer complaints in a timely fashion. Task 2 focused on operation, repair, and maintenance of the generation plant. At the outset of the PSELD-T contract, NRECA was forced to take full, direct responsibility for the PPSELD powerplant due to the decision of the former sub-contractor not to participate in PSELD-T. NRECA retained most of the PPSELD personnel for PSELD-T, hired a new generation plant supervisor and directed all power plant operations, preventative and corrective maintenance, as well as staff training and performance monitoring for the generation plant. Throughout the PSELD-T project period, the PPSELD power plant remained the most reliable power plant in Haiti with an average service availability index (ASAI) of 99.66% for the year of 2020 and 99.75% for the year of 2021. Task 3 focused on reduction of technical and non-technical losses. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic during this period of PSELD-T contract, the activities of the revenue protection crews were significantly restricted. However, disconnections of illegal connections and theft control remained a necessary and essential project activity. Through January 2022, 768 illegal connections were disconnected, and 182 cases of electricity theft were discovered. Electricity losses during the 24 months remained stable at an average of 11.5%. Losses within the CIP averaged around 5%, while losses outside the park were 15% to 16%. NRECA International Page iv Task 4 was defined as a support activity in which NRECA was required to facilitate the transition to management by a private operator. The GoH continued to implement its strategy to privatize the electricity service in the 10 departments of Haiti, including the PPSELD service area. To comply with this task, the NRECA team provided periodic to the USAID technical team including provision of data and information regarding PPSELD operations. Unfortunately, negotiations with leading candidates did move forward and the GoH decided to abandon negotiations in October 2021. A new tender process was expected in 2022. Considering current economic and political conditions in the country and the Haitian electricity market, PSELD-T has achieved remarkable success. Overall revenue recovery allowed PPSELD to cover fuel, local labor, and other operating costs. Power reliability and availability continued on par with high-performing electric utilities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Due to the devaluation of the Haitian Gourde (HTG), the current tariffs do not provide for the total recovery of PPSELD operating costs. Going forward, tariffs rates should be indexed in a way to provide for full cost recovery and adjust to the fluctuations in the international fuel markets. NRECA International Page v Project for Sustainable Electricity Distribution Transition (PSELD-T): Closeout Report Introduction USAID awarded NRECA International the contract to implement the Pilot Project for Sustainable Electricity Distribution (PPSELD) in May 2013. The PPSELD project was an initiative to establish a generation and distribution electricity utility in northeast Haiti to provide reliable and sustainable electric service. The primary task of PPSELD was to operate a 10MW HFO-diesel power plant located in the Caracol Industrial Park (CIP), to commercialize power within the CIP to industrial clients in the CIP, and to expand electricity service to residential and small commercial customers outside the CIP in several communes that are in the vicinity of the CIP, Caracol, Terrier Rouge, Trou du Nord, Limonade and Saint Suzanne. The GoH with the support of USAID began a process to attract private investors to engage in concession agreements to operate electric power facilities in ten departments in Haiti. The PPSELD service area is included in this program. In recognition of this program, USAID designed a transition project that was awarded to NRECA as the legacy contractor to the PPSELD project. This transition project is called Project for Sustainable Electricity Distribution - Transition, PSELD-T. The most significant event that affected the operations of PSELD-T in these two years was the COVID-19 pandemic that affected Haiti as it did all countries throughout the world. Although Haiti did not report infection rates as high as many other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, restrictions taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19 significantly affected all PSELD T activities. PSELD-T implemented the social distancing and hygiene protocols issued by the health authorities. For this purpose, PSELD-T implemented a policy for employee compliance. Despite the restrictions, NRECA continued to comply with the technical, operational, commercial and customer service policies and procedures implemented for an efficient operation of the electric company. As a result, very high levels of service quality and reliability were maintained, high levels of collection. Despite the limitations to continue with all the inspection actions to control the theft of electricity in the users' homes and the impact on the users' economy, the level of losses was controlled and did not increase. This scope of work for PSELD-T includes four main tasks that are summarized in Table 1 below. Table 1 Description of the tasks to be implemented Task Number Task Summary Name Task 1 Provide reliable and efficient electricity services Task 2 Operate and maintain the 10 MW generation plant, distribution grid, and ancillary equipment. Task 4 Facilitate transition to future private operator. Task 3 Reduce non-technical electricity loss by increasing metered customers NRECA International Page 1 This document presents the closeout report of the PSELD-T project. The report describes the tasks and activities undertaken by NRECA on behalf of USAID as well as the results achieved over the two years of project implementation. NRECA submitted monthly and semi-annual progress reports that summarized activity challenges and results throughout the PPSELD implementation period. Task 1 Provide Reliable and Efficient Electricity Service Commercial and customer service department The activities of the commercial and customer service department were focused on billing and collection, connections and disconnections, and attention to customer needs and concerns. The commercial/customer service team members were responsible for all facets of customer service, meter reading, billing, collections receiving and processing applications for service, service connections and disconnections. In addition, commercial/customer service team members managed customer education and communications designed to promote understanding of PPSELD utility operations and to build a bridge of trust with the communities served by PPSELD. The commercial/customer service department also continued to manage an aggressive loss control program, carrying out activities to detect theft by customers and illegal connections. CIP clients During the last two years of the project, the number of clients in the CIP remained unchanged as shown in Table 2. Table 2. CIP client count by month and by year. Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2020 11 11 11 11 13 11 11 11 14 13 12 11 2021 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 2022 11 Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2020 11 11 11 11 13 11 11 11 14 13 12 11 2021 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 2022 11 Residential and commercial clients outside CIP Residential clients represent 97% of all clients at PSELD, 2% of the clients are commercial and 1% public facilities . Over the course of PSELD-T, the number of non-CIP clients has increased in number as shown in Table 3. Table 3. Non-CIP PPSELD clients 2020-2021 2020 2021 Customers Residential Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan 13,546 13,551 13,535 13,515 13,477 13,497 13,508 13,468 13,411 13,376 13,345 13,317 Commercial 211 200 196 196 197 197 195 200 202 209 211 215 NRECA International Page 2 Org. Public 33 34 34 34 34 33 36 36 36 35 36 36 Org. Autonomy 62 62 62 63 63 63 66 68 69 71 71 71 Tax Exempt 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 General power 27 29 29 29 29 29 50 55 55 67 66 66 Primary-volt consumers 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Other - - - - - - - - - - - - Total 13,886 13,883 13,863 13,844 13,807 13,826 13,862 13,834 13,780 13,765 13,736 13,712 2021-2022 2021 2022 Customers Residential Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan 13,278 13,279 13,247 13,244 13,270 13,276 13,329 13,360 13,383 13,423 13,486 13,504 Commercial 216 220 222 228 229 232 239 242 246 249 254 258 Org Public 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 38 39 40 41 Org Autonomy 71 71 72 72 72 72 72 71 72 74 75 76 Tax Exempt 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 General power 66 66 66 66 66 66 65 67 69 68 68 69 Primary-volt consumers 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Other - - - - - - - - - - - Total 13,673 13,678 13,649 13,652 13,679 13,688 13,747 13,782 13,814 13,859 13,929 13,954 The client’s penetration rate by municipality is illustrated in Table 4 for February 2020. Forty one percent of households are connected to PPSELD electricity service in the five communes. Table 4. Penetration rate by commune Total Client Base Outside CIP February 2020 Clients Penetration Rate Households Commune Caracol 2,245 125% 1,800 Trou-du-Nord 6,030 66% 9,204 Sainte Suzanne 301 5% 5,560 Terrier Rouge 1,704 27% 6,326 Limonade 3,606 33% 10,840 Total 13,886 41% 33,730 The PPSELD distribution system does not cover all parts of the five communes, this is why the penetration rate in some of them is still low. It is estimated that around than 90% of the clients with the area of influence of PPSELD transformers are connected to PPSELD service. Electricity delivered, sales and losses The figure 1 below presents electricity generated and distributed by the PPSELD power plant and through the distribution system for the contract period. Figure 1 also differentiates electricity sold to CIP clients and that sold to residential and commercial clients outside CIP. Over this period, 39% of the of the electricity was sold to CIP clients, 49% sold to residential and commercial clients with 12% losses. NRECA International Page 3 Figure 1. Net generation, electricity sales and electricity losses Net generation, electricity sales and electricity losses [kWh] Sales inside CIP Sales outside CIP Total Electricity losses 2,600 Thousands 2,400 369 189 2,200 375 269 266 202 208 257 330 214 154 283 2,000 33 225 231 1,800 320 89 1,118 1,290 1,600 335 228 1,040 965 1,060 1,004 1,101 1,188 1,097 88 194 1,026 1,096 1,147 254 1,400 288 1,037 305 923 953 1,200 927 754 720 1,000 775 703 878 1,057 772 800 799 600 709 604 787 808 865 925 780 1,045 1,017 906 864 549 387 773 930 1,025 1,021,034 967 821 400 740 627 464 200 380 - Electricity sales Electricity sales were registered throughout PSELD-T for CIP (industrial) clients, residential and commercial clients. Electricity rates are denominated in dollars for industrial clients inside CIP and in HTG for residential and commercial clients outside the park. Sales to industrial clients Sales of electricity to industrial clients increased as some clients increased activities that resulted in higher demand. The company with the highest consumption accounts for 35% of electricity sales and 70% of all industrial sales. Table 6 illustrates industrial electricity sales by month and year in MWh. Table 6 Industrial sales by month in MWh. Energy Sold inside CIP - Industrial Clients Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21 740 627 380 773 930 1,025 1,021 1,034 967 821 464 709 Feb-21 Mar-21 Apr-21 May-21 Jun-21 Jul-21 Aug-21 Sep-21 Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 604 787 808 865 925 780 1,045 1,017 906 864 549 387 NRECA International Page 4 Residential and commercial sales With the increase in residential and commercial consumers served by PSELD-T, sales to these consumers increased significantly. While sales to industrial clients remain significant, residential and commercial sales account for more than half of all PPSELD sales. Table 7 illustrates the progression of sales in MWh per year, while Figure 2 provides a similar illustration of sales per month during the last two year of residential and commercial sales. Residential sales represent 87% of sales while commercial clients consume 6% and other clients – such as public facilities, represent 7% of electricity sales. Table 7 Electricity sales in MWh, Feb 2020 – Jan 2022. Customers 2020 2021 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Residential 549 555 640 783 855 796 857 798 850 811 597 742 Commercial 65 58 68 91 108 89 82 66 77 64 52 64 Organization Public 8 9 10 14 13 14 15 14 13 13 8 10 Organization Autonomy 18 18 17 17 18 13 20 20 24 24 18 21 Tax Exempt 10 11 12 5 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 General power 24 30 39 38 41 47 79 85 98 101 75 77 Primary voltage consumers 26 22 15 5 5 5 6 20 39 22 21 11 Other - - - - - - - - - - - - Total 701 703 799 953 1,040 965 1,060 1,004 1,101 1,037 772 927 Customers 2021 2022 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Residential 621 608 742 829 886 938 914 1,052 962 884 723 880 Commercial 49 47 60 69 75 76 71 81 76 71 55 64 Organization Public 9 10 11 14 12 12 14 18 14 7 6 6 Organization Autonomy 19 18 22 22 23 21 21 24 24 21 19 23 Tax Exempt 2 - 2 1 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 General power 68 65 81 84 82 85 81 90 90 90 69 78 Primary voltage consumers 7 6 6 7 12 14 18 25 22 23 5 5 Other - - - - - - - - - - - - Total 775 754 923 1,026 1,096 1,147 1,118 1,290 1,188 1,097 878 1,057 NRECA International Page 5 Figure 2. Industrial electricity sales in MWh by month and year. Electricity Sales - Non CIP (MWh) 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 MWh 600 400 200 - Public lightning Public lighting is a service negotiated between PPSELD and each municipality to promote security throughout the communes that are served. Electricity consumption by street lights is evaluated quarterly based on the number of lamps installed and the energy consumption of each lamp. Agreements with each municipality state that PPSELD is responsible for installation of street lights and collects fees by assessing these fees to consumers on monthly bills. Public lighting fees are a percentage of the total electricity billed to individual consumers. . Table 8 shows the public lighting consumption per month from February 2021 to January 2022. NRECA International Page 6 Table 8. Consumption in MWh per month Commune 2021 2022 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Caracol 4.30 4.76 4.60 4.76 4.60 4.76 4.76 4.60 4.76 4.60 4.76 4.76 Ekam 1.74 1.92 1.86 1.92 1.86 1.92 1.92 1.86 1.92 1.86 1.92 2.27 Trou du Nord 12.24 13.55 13.11 13.55 13.11 15.37 15.37 14.87 15.37 14.87 15.37 15.37 Sainte Suzanne 0.93 1.03 0.99 1.03 0.99 1.03 1.03 0.99 1.03 0.99 1.03 1.03 Terrier Rouge 4.07 4.51 4.37 4.51 4.37 4.51 4.51 4.37 4.51 4.37 4.51 5.34 Limonade 5.49 6.08 5.88 6.08 5.88 6.08 6.08 5.88 6.08 5.88 6.08 6.08 28.76 31.85 30.82 31.85 30.82 33.67 33.67 32.58 33.67 32.58 33.67 34.84 Tariffs During the PSELD-T transition period, tariffs remained unchanged as directed by USAID. USAID and the GoH made this decision to avoid creating social unrest. Table 9 illustrates the rate schedule applied during the last two years. Table 9. PSELD-T rate schedule applied through 2022 Category Charge Unit Rate Comments Customer located outside the Caracol Industrial Park Residential consumers, 120 V service R Fixed charge Gds/month 207.00 Variable charges 0-30 kWh Gds/kWh 16.84 31-200 kWh Gds/kWh 22.39 >200 kWh Gds/kWh 31.16 Residential consumers, 240 V service R240 Fixed charge Gds/month 207.00 Variable charge – all consumption Gds/kWh 32.37 Commercial consumers, 120 V service C Fixed charge Gds/month 207.00 Variable charges 0-30 kWh Gds/kWh 16.84 31-200 kWh Gds/kWh 22.39 >200 kWh Gds/kWh 31.16 Commercial consumers, 240 V service C240 Fixed charge Gds/month 207.00 Variable charge – all consumption Gds/kWh 32.37 Public Institutions P Fixed charge Gds/month 207.00 Variable charge – all consumption Gds/kWh 32.37 Nonpublic Institutions N Fixed charge Gds/month 207.00 Variable charge – all consumption Gds/kWh 32.37 Streetlights G Fixed charge Gds/month 207.00 Variable charge – all consumption Gds/kWh 32.37 General service – Low voltage LV Fixed charge Gds/month 207.00 Variable charge Gds/kWh 32.37 General service – Medium voltage NRECA International Page 7 Category Charge Unit Rate Comments MV Fixed charge Gds/month 207.00 Variable charge Gds/kWh 32.37 Other charges New application fee Gds 500.00 All categories Service relocation fee Gds 500.00 All categories Account name change Gds 500.00 All categories 120V to 240V voltage change request Gds 5,800.00 Reconnection after disconnection for non-payment fee R, R240, C, C240, P, N and G categories Gds 200 MV and LV categories Gds 20,000 Meter test Gds 1,500 All categories Repair fees1 Repair of service drop cable – 120 V service Gds 4,800 Repair of service drop cable – 240 V service Gds 5,800 Repair of meter base installation– 120 V service Gds 4,700 Repair of meter base installation– 240 V service Gds 5,100 Relocate meter and meter base installation Gds 3,000 Change damaged meter Gds 4,300 Meter seal repair Gds 1,000 Replace or replace of lift pole Gds 38,800 Fraud / electricity theft penalty- Residential Gds 25,000 Fraud / electricity theft penalty- other categories Gds 50,000 Outage request Gds 18,700 All categories Interconnection engineering study Gds 40,0000 All categories Reimbursable security deposits R and C categories Gds 1,500 R240 and C240 categories Gds 6,000 Other categories GDs TBD 2 Customer located inside the Caracol Industrial Park Fixed and variable charges for all consumers Fixed charge US$/month 10,00 Variable charge – all consumption US$/kWh 0.30 Other charges New application fee US$ 12,00 All categories Reconnection after disconnection for non-payment fee US$ 200.00 All categories Outage request / US$ 200.00 Including meter test requests Interconnection engineering study US$ 400.00 Repair fees US$ 3 Fraud / electricity theft penalty US$ 1,000 Reimbursable security deposits US$ 4 All charges above are subject to 10% sales tax (TCA), except customers located inside the CIP as well as tax exempt customers outside the CIP. 1 All categories but LV and MV 2 Based on 2 months of anticipated electricity consumption including all applicable chargers 3 Repair fees for LV and MV categories outside the park, or for all consumers inside the park, are to be determined equally to the needed repair work on a case-by-case base, considering all labor and materials costs 4 Based on 2 months of anticipated electricity consumption including all applicable chargers NRECA International Page 8 Customer Service - Meters reading, billing and collections. PPSELD clients’ meters are read on a monthly basis. Customers are billed based using meter readings to evaluate actual electricity consumption. The meter reading and billing process is as follows: • The service area is divided in 154 meter-reading routes. Meter technicians are assigned to specific routes to read meters and deliver bills. Meter technician read the meter, enter the reading in a tablet computer and print the bill on site to deliver to the client. • Meters are read each month. • All meters in a route are read on the same day. • The collected readings are updated in CIS. Commercial department staff review and confirm bills issued by technicians in the field. • Large CIP consumers and some larger institutions receive bills via email. • Payments are due 14 days after the meter is read. Figure No 3 illustrates the activities of the reading, billing, and billing delivery to the client. Customers may pay bills at any PPSELD office or collection point that are interconnected to the CIS. Walk-in customers interact with PPSELD customer service representatives who receive payment and provide a receipt for the transaction. The larger customers can transfer funds via direct deposit to the PPSELD bank account. Cash received at PPSELD collection points is counted and prepared for deposit after the office is closed to the public. A cash reconciliation is carried out the next morning at the PPSELD main offices to ensure the amounts counted and received are correct. After reconciliation, payments are recorded in the system, and cash is deposited. NRECA International Page 9 Figure 3. Meter reading, billing, and bill delivery on site Reading the meter Processing the bill Printing the bill Delivering the bill to the client Web CIS The webCIS is composed of eight modules including an administration module, a customer management module, a billing module, a cashier module, an accounting module, an energy management module, a user management module and a reporting module. The webCIS is designed to interface with customer service personnel via a web application. All users connect to the CIS through an internal network or remotely. No other applications are required on user’s laptop to connect to the CIS. The modules have the following features. Administration module NRECA International Page 10 o Tariff definition, tariff charges and fee set up, including definition of streetlight surcharges o Definition and management of accounting codes for billing and collection transactions o Creation and management of meter reading routes o Set up and management of poles, transformers, and routes o Management and set up of field offices and collection points Customer Management module o Customers’ information data (name, address, phone, etc.) o Management of customers’ account data, including tariff, location, pole and transformer linkage, route, tariff, etc. o Management of meters including location, status (energized, disconnected, etc.) o Customers’ general ledger o Management of meter installation order (Meter Order) includes all steps required to install or remove a meter at a customer’s premise. o Management of service orders o Management of customer complains Billing module o Billing of routes, including meter reading, billing, and noting abnormalities and printing of bills. o Generation of meter disconnection lists for non-payment and meter reconnection lists o Management of do-not-disconnect list o Management and oversight of adjustments to customer’s general ledger (credits or debits) o Management and oversight of fraud fees Cashier module o Receiving customers’ payment and printing of payment receipts o Customer reimbursement module and printing of payment receipts o Collection summaries for reconciliation of cash collection by office and customer service representatives Accounting module o Reports of transactions for billing and collection revenues o Generation of daily and monthly transaction summaries Reporting module o Several reports of electricity sales, billing and collection used for operations Energy balance module by distribution transformer User management module o Management of user attributes, hierarchies and security level, and activity log. District offices PPSELD has established offices strategically located to allow customers to request service connections, pay bills, register complaints, or just seek information from PPSELD customer service agents. Customer service personnel receive consumers, attend to customer requirements, and receive payments for electricity consumption. The offices are open from Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. NRECA International Page 11 To facilitate consumer payments, a network of collection points operated by third parties was established to facilitate customer payments. PPSELD representatives at these collection points are able to access the CIS to provide billing information and record payments. The payment agents receive a fixed payment per invoice collected. Figure 4 illustrates a map of the PPSELD district offices and third party collection agents. Figure 4. Location of PPSELD commercial services offices. Task 2 Operate and maintain the 10 MW generation plant, distribution grid, and ancillary equipment Electricity power generation plant The CIP power plant consists of six generating units, each of which has a maximum capacity of 1.7 MW. These generators are designed to burn heavy fuel oil or diesel fuel, depending on fuel availability and cost. The plant was designed and built by ESD Engineering and Service SRL under contract with USAID. The generation department consists of operations and maintenance teams. The operations team includes three groups of four operators. The groups work rotating twelve-hour shifts to provide a 24-hour service. The operators were trained to operate all the generation units, the boiler equipment and the fuel tank farm. NRECA advisors, managers, and safety coordinator supervise NRECA International Page 12 all operations and maintenance activities at the power plant as well as provide periodic training of the generation team. The maintenance team is composed of mechanical and electrical teams. The two maintenance teams are responsible for maintaining and repair of the power plant to ensure the availability of all components in the plant. The generation maintenance personnel perform preventive and corrective maintenance following manufacturer instructions for all the equipment installed in the plant, including six generators and auxiliary equipment. The result of the generation team has been outstanding; the PPSELD plant is recognized as the most reliable plant in Haiti with an availability index of 99.56% for January 2022. Table 10 illustrates plant production for the PSELD-T performance period. Table 11 illustrates the maximum demand for each month of the performance period. Table 10 Total Gross Production per Month – kWh 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21 Production 1,817,495 1,717,658 1,612,636 2,107,299 2,336,472 2,528,627 2,512,148 2,464,615 2,433,624 2,042,956 1,665,978 1,875,462 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0 Feb-21 Mar-21 Apr-21 May-21 Jun-21 Jul-21 Aug-21 Sep-21 Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Production 1,706,470 2,012,012 2,103,655 2,330,186 2,436,293 2,414,927 2,704,549 2,659,726 2,462,767 2,266,333 1,900,279 1,658,695 NRECA International Page 13 Table 11. Total Plant Max Demand per Month kW 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 Jun-20 Jul-20 Aug-20 Sep-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20 Jan-21 Peak Load 5,828 5,868 4,865 5,884 6,271 6,351 6,476 6,477 6,445 5,958 5,602 5,625 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Feb-21 Mar-21 Apr-21 May-21 Jun-21 Jul-21 Aug-21 Sep-21 Oct-21 Nov-21 Dec-21 Jan-22 Peak Load 5,606 5,459 5,808 5,938 6,334 6,404 6,516 6,575 6,413 6,341 5,914 5,818 During the period of February 2020 through January 2022, electricity generation reached 51.7 GWh while the fuel consumption was approximately 3.3 million gallons, diesel and HFO. In average 15.66 kWh per gallon of fuel was produced. The maximum demand registered in the same period was in the month of September 2021, 6,575 kW. Figure 5 illustrates the demand by year and month throughout the last five years of PPSELD operation. NRECA International Page 14 Figure 5. Peak plant demand Maximum Demand (MW) MWh 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 - Preventive maintenance The power generation station consists of six 4-stroke, vertical, direct injection, single acting and trunk piston type generators with turbocharger and inter-cooler. These six units are containerized. Total hours of operation as of January 31, 2022 for each unit are shown in Table 12 below. Table 12. Hours of operation of each generator unit Genset Hour Meter as of January 31, 2022 MDU NO.1 24,705 MDU NO.2 33,052 MDU NO.3 34,902 MDU NO.4 30,701 MDU NO.5 25,461 MDU NO.6 27,630 Preventive maintenance includes a combination of minor and major maintenance procedures as prescribed by the manufacturer. Manufacturer recommendations state that minor preventive maintenance should be performed every 3000 hours of operation while major maintenance should be performed once every 12,000 hours. Maintenance procedures are specified for each occurrence of minor and major maintenance. The maintenance team maintains records of all preventative and corrective maintenance procedures undertaken for all generation units. NRECA International Page 15 Minor preventive maintenance The scope of maintenance required is very similar for minor maintenance that is prescribed for maintenance intervals of 3,000, 6,000, 9,000, 15,000, 18,000, and 21,000 hours. These maintenance procedures include inspection of all top-end (compression chamber) components of the engine, replacement of the injection nozzles if heavy fuel oil has been used, and repair of all issues identified in the inspection process. Inspection procedures require inspection of the axial clearance of the crankshaft, confirmation torque settings for connecting rods; inspection of the main/big end bearings and the timing gear and other related inspection procedures. In addition, minor electrical preventive maintenance procedures are performed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Table 13 summarizes the dates when minor maintenance was performed. Table 13. Minor Preventative Maintenance Minor Preventive Maintenance Performed during the Project Feb/2020 to Jan/2022 Genset 18000 hrs. 21000 hrs. 27000 hrs. 30000 hrs. MDU No1 August 2,020 June 2,021 MDU No2 August 2,021 November 2,020 August 2,021 MDU No3 May 2,021 MDU No4 June 2,21 MDU No5 April 2,020 February 2,021 MDU No6 March 2,020 January 2,022 Major preventive maintenance Major preventative maintenance is required every 12,000 hours of generator operation. The manufacturer recommendations require that all components of the generator must be thoroughly inspected to identify any anomalies in major systems or components. The inspection considers any anomalies identified in the operating record to guide the inspection and discovery process. Manufacturer recommendations also include replacement of bearings, injectors, oil and compression rings, and other major components. Service technicians are required to measure major and minor components to determine if they are within proper operating specifications – and to replace components that are outside of operating compliance. With respect to electrical maintenance, major maintenance procedures are also specified in the manufacturer guidebooks. Service technicians are required to ensure that the engine is left in optimal condition at the conclusion of major maintenance processes. Table 14 shows the dates when major maintenance was performed for the six genset units. Table 14. Gensets Major Preventive Maintenance Gensets Major Preventive Maintenance Feb/2020 to Jan/2022 Genset 24000 Hrs. MDU No1 MDU No2 January 2,020 NRECA International Page 16 MDU No3 August 2.020 MDU No4 October 2,020 MDU No5 MDU No6 April 2,021 *200 hrs. inspection is performed after a major maintenance Ancillary Equipment Like all equipment installed in the plant, auxiliary equipment plays an important role in the operation of PSELD power plant. PPSELD team members carried out the respective maintenance to ensure that they operate efficiently and effectively to ensure their continued availability. Air compressors required to initiate diesel/HFO starting conditions, as well as to produce compressed air for the instrumentation system, are inspected daily. If problems are noted, maintenance is scheduled immediately. Other components that are inspected daily include engine oil centrifuges; HFO centrifuges; and the exhaust gas recovery boiler that produces the steam to heat HFO. This boiler is fueled by diesel and heavy fuel oil. It produces steam that is required to support continued operation heavy fuel oil when a maintenance is required on the exhaust gas recovery boiler. Firefighting system of the plant An essential system for all generation plants is the fire protection system. Fire extinguishers are installed throughout the plant, but the primary fire suppression system is a water system that supplies eleven fire hydrants strategically located throughout the plant. They must always be operable therefore they are inspected routinely to ensure that they operate efficiently and effectively to ensure their continued availability. Other important corrective maintenance carried out during the PSELD-T project. Table 15 below summaries additional maintenance work performed at the auxiliary equipment of the generation plant. Table 15. Additional Maintenance Work Other important maintenance work performed Feb/2020-Jan/2022 Equipment Description of Work Date HFO System Installation of new viscosity sensors and interface in HTU side 1 and 2. February 2020 Firefighting System Replacement of defective batteries on the Diesel pump. Maintenance of 480/220 V transformer in firefighting system. February 2020 Genset # 1,2,3,4,5 and 6. Coordination of electric protections and changing of parameters on the Generator paralleling controller (GPC’s). May 2020 LO separator # 1 Major maintenance July, 2020 Steam exchanger # 2 Corrective maintenance on HFO booster system # 2 July, 2020 MDU No. 1 Corrective maintenance on cylinder head No. 5. July, 2020 MDU No. 3 Corrective maintenance on injection pumps cylinders #7 and #8 September 2020 MDU No. 1 Change of oil scrapper and compression rings on all cylinders due high oil consumption December 2020. Air compressor # 1 Major maintenance February 2021 Steam exchanger # 1 Corrective maintenance on HFO booster system # 1 May 2021 MDU No. 4 Preventive maintenance on turbocharger September 2021 NRECA International Page 17 Laboratory tests During the 24-month period of PSELD-T implementation, routine tests have been carried out on a periodic basis to evaluate power plant performance and identify potential maintenance requirements. Monthly tests have been conducted for lubrication oil, cooling water for the six engines and for the heavy fuel oil used in our engines. Every month exhaust gas recovery boiler water and the auxiliary boiler were analyzed. Electricity Distribution System When USAID and GOH authorized expansion of service to the communes of Troud Du Nord, Terrier Rouge, Limonade, NRECA started to rehabilitate former EdH distribution infrastructure and to normalize former EdH consumers. Former EdH distribution were in a very poor conditions in some segments requiring full replacement. Due to challenges with hiring qualified contractors to perform distribution rehabilitation services, PPSELD trained locally hired linemen to perform rehabilitation services. These local staff not only gained confidence from this training experience but also acquired the skills needed to perform maintenance work practices through the construction training experience. PPSELD employees were trained by NRECA staff members who were assisted in great part by NRECA member cooperative volunteers who traveled to Haiti on a voluntary basis to provide assistance. After an intensive period of rehabilitation by January 2022, 70 km of medium voltage lines of lines were rehabilitated, and 138 km of lines were added. As January 2022, PSELD-T have 252.86 km of lines as it is described at Table 16 below and 536 distribution transformers installed at the CIP and outside the CIP as it is shown at the Table 17, Distribution transformers by Commune. Table 16. PSELD-T Distribution lines by Commune Description Caracol km Troud Du Nord km Saint Suzanne km Tierre Rouge km Limonade km Three phase primary lines 18.60 5.17 3.47 3.84 Single phase primary lines 8.66 3.74 5.69 1.49 2.25 Under build three phase 1.73 11.22 3.4 6.95 Under build single phase 10.87 11.62 2.44 4.78 10.64 Secondary 16.60 54.27 3.55 25.95 31.32 DCKT* 4.34 DCKT* - UB 0.27 Sub-totals 61.07 86.02 11.68 39.09 55.00 TOTAL PSELD-T 252.86 *Double circuit at CIP NRECA International Page 18 Table 17. PSELD-T Distribution transformers by Commune Capacity Caracol kVA Troud Du Nord kVA Saint Suzanne kVA Tierre Rouge kVA Limonade kVA 10kVA(1Ph) 24 36 1 12 12 15kVA(1Ph) 62 58 3 12 37 25kVA(1Ph) 16 59 3 21 41 37.5kVA(1Ph) 17 15 4 1 21 50kVA(1Ph) 3 3 10 75kVA(1Ph) 1 1 100kVA(1Ph) 1 30kVA(3Ph) 1 45kVA(3Ph) 6 1 2 75kVA(3Ph) 1 2 112.5kVA(3Ph) 3 150kVA(3Ph) 7 225kVA(3Ph) 20 1 300kVA(3Ph) 3 1 500kVA(3Ph) 2 750kVA(3Ph) 11 1000kVA(3Ph) 1 Sub-total 174 177 11 57 117 Total 536 Figure 6 describes the PSELD-T service area and the location of the distribution transformers. NRECA International Page 19 Figure 6. PPSELD service area. During this transition period, PSELD-T maintained the electricity service to its users at high levels of reliability. The table 18. PSELD-T average service availability index below shows the results month by month. For the year of 2020, 99.66% of reliability was recorded and for the next year of 2021, 99.75%. NRECA International Page 20 Table 18. PSELD-T average service availability index 2020 Month Number Outages SAIFI SAIDI ASAI (%) January 11 0.60 2.30 99.69% February 10 0.10 0.20 99.98% March 12 6.00 1.70 99.76% April 8 0.03 0.10 99.98% May 42 2.10 10.70 98.57% June 11 0.60 1.00 99.97% July 21 0.80 2.70 99.64% August 12 1.90 3.30 99.56% September 12 3.10 5.30 99.27% October 7 1.30 2.80 99.63% November 5 0.20 0.40 99.94% December 5 0.10 0.20 99.98% Total/Average: 156 16.83 30.70 99.66% 2021 Month Number Outages SAIFI SAIDI ASAI (%) January 6 0.80 2.20 99.70% February 5 0.20 0.50 99.93% March 9 0.10 0.20 99.97% April 9 0.80 3.10 99.56% May 11 0.40 1.40 99.82% June 17 2.60 7.40 98.98% July 11 1.80 2.40 99.67% August 13 0.40 0.70 99.91% September 10 0.80 1.40 99.81% October 6 0.10 0.20 99.97% November 8 0.60 1.30 99.81% December 13 0.40 1.10 99.85% Total/Average: 118 9.00 21.90 99.75% 2022 Month Number Outages SAIFI SAIDI ASAI (%) January 13 2.90 4.70 99.37% Note: The flooding that occurred in the Industrial Park and the PSELD generation plant - interrupted the service in the entire PSELD-T system on the last day of January 2022. NRECA International Page 21 Task 3. Reduce Non-technical Electricity Loss by Increasing Metered Customers. Customer normalization and connection of new clients Once the process of rehabilitation of the medium and low voltage system was completed and the normalization of the clients was completed, the number of clients increased, therefore, the sales of electricity increased and the losses began to decrease. But at the same time, the task of control of illegal connections was initiated to continue to combat energy theft on a continuing basis. Figure 7 shows the progression of registered customers from approximately 5,000 in 2016 to approximately 14,000 in January 2022. Although 16,502 connections were made up to January 2022, in January 2022, 13,621 customers were active and with electricity service. During the period from February 2020 to January 2022, the number of clients ranged between 13,893 and 13,621. Figure 7. Customers by system - January 2016 - January 2022 Customers by system - last 12 months CIP Caracol Trou du Nord Ste Suzanne Terrier Rouge Limonade Thousands 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Jan-16 Apr-16 Jul-16 Oct-16 Jan-17 Apr-17 Jul-17 Oct-17 Jan-18 Apr-18 Jul-18 Oct-18 Jan-19 Apr-19 Jul-19 Oct-19 Jan-20 Apr-20 Jul-20 Oct-20 Jan-21 Apr-21 Jul-21 Oct-21 Jan-22 In the CIP, the number of customers served remain at the same level between 2020 and 2022. As of 2022, 11 clients are in operations inside the park. See Table 2. Table 20 below shows the number of requests for new connections received and processed between February 2020 and January 2022. A total of 766 application were received at the offices of PPSELD from them 759 were processed and 556 meters were connected to the service. NRECA International Page 22 Table 19. Customer Service Records Description No of Clients/ Connections New applications received 766 New applications processed 759 Design completed 785 Meters connected 556 Customers disconnects fraud 182 Illegal connections removed 768 Electricity loss reduction program Electricity losses occur due to the natural heat process of the conductor as electricity is conducted from one place to another, this phenomenon is called technical losses. Commercial losses occur due to theft of electricity, meter manipulation and poor or improper commercial practices such as meter reading errors, failure to deliver bills or other related commercial activities. Identification and reduction of commercial losses is a key activity required to achieve improved financial sustainability for electricity distribution companies. PPSELD created the revenue protection department to systematically and routinely identify and work to reduce electricity theft. The revenue protection team is a permanent work unit in the commercial department comprised of three crews of technicians who are responsible to constantly patrol the distribution network to search for illegal connections and inspect meters. Through the monthly loss control of the distribution transformers, the revenue protection crews are organized to inspect all the transformers with the highest losses. The distribution networks, the household connections and the meters of the clients connected to these transformers are inspected everyday including weekends. Activities performed by the revenue protection crews include: - Patrol the distribution network in search of illegal taps - Inspection of meter bases and service drops in search for hidden meter bypasses or tampered meters - Sweep inspections on identified trouble areas with higher losses - Disconnection of consumer from pole found consuming electricity illegally - Disconnect and connect areas of the system that were temporally suspended due to damages on the lines due to theft actions. - Disconnect and remove illegal connections. - Removal of meters and service drops from customers disconnected for non payment after six months. All cases of customer fraud found are sent to the customer service department to apply a fraud fee to the accounts of these customers. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic during PSELD-T implementation, the activities of the revenue protection crews were significantly restricted to avoid contact with clients. As Table 20 shows the results of the activities carried out by the revenue protection crews, 768 illegal connections were disconnected and 182 customers were found stealing electricity during the period of February 2020 through January 2022. Electricity losses during the last 24 months remained stable in the range of 11.5% percent. Losses within the CIP remained around 5%, while NRECA International Page 23 losses outside the CIP were between 15% and 16%. Figure 8 illustrates the total losses and the losses inside and outside the park during the last 12 months, from January 2021 to February 2022. Figure 8. Electricity losses last 12 months average % of electricity losses - last 12 months average Losses inside CIP - 12 month average Losses outside CIP - 12 month average Total PPSELD Losses - 12 month average Losses inside CIP - 3 month average Losses outside CIP - 3 month average Total PPSELD Losses - 3 month average 25% 20% 16.6% 16.2% 16.5%15.8% 16.0% 16.2% 15.7% 16.3%15.4% 15.3% 16.0% 16.1% 15.9% 15.6% Percentage % 15% 11.6% 11.5% 11.7% 11.1% 11.2% 11.4% 11.2% 11.6% 11.2% 11.2% 11.5% 11.6% 11.7% 11.5% 10% 5% 4.8% 5.0% 4.9% 4.8% 4.9% 4.9% 5.0% 5.0% 5.1% 5.2% 5.2% 5.1% 5.4% 5.2% 0% Jan-21 Feb-21 Mar-21 Apr-21 May-21 Jun-21 Jul-21 Aug-21 Sep-21 Oc