The Inter-American Development Bank had contracted a team of firms consisting of K&M, GeothermEx, and POWER Engineers to assess the potential uses of excess geothermal energy in the Eastern Caribbean. The general objective of this consultancy was to assess options for exporting excess geothermal energy in the Eastern Caribbean. The specific objectives of this consultancy were to carry out an infrastructure and investment assessment for green hydrogen production in the Eastern Caribbean based on geothermal energy generation, as well as develop a business model for a green hydrogen network in the region. K&M was responsible for estimating the volume of green hydrogen that could have been produced from excess geothermal power in the Eastern Caribbean, determining the investment needs to produce green hydrogen from geothermal sources, estimating the levelized cost of green hydrogen, and proposing a preliminary business model for a green hydrogen network in the Eastern Caribbean.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is a champion of the Regional Strategic Action Plan for Governance and Building Climate Resilience in the Water Sector in the Caribbean (RSAP). In support of the implementation of the RSAP, the IDB and K&M have prepared a report for publication on water utilities in the Caribbean. This report will serve as reference document and a key guide for prioritizing improvements needed by water utilities of the Caribbean. This report includes:

• Benchmarking of water utilities in the Caribbean
• The benefits of implementing non-revenue water (NRW) reduction projects
• Identifying the level of resilience of water utilities in the Caribbean
• Assessing the impact of COVID on water utilities in the Caribbean.

Under this contract, the K&M team processed new data provided by water utilities in the Caribbean, ensuring that the report is reflective of the most current data available.

K&M’s scope of work included:

• Processing new data from utilities
• Updating the database for individual utilities and consolidating the database
• Produceing new charts and figures
• Updating accompanying text in report
• Proofeading report for publication

The IDB Group, through the assistance of K&M Advisors LLC (K&M) and Alliant Insurance Services (Alliant), has completed the initial development of the proposed Caribbean Water Utilities Insurance Company (CWUIC). CWUIC will be a mutual insurance company for water utilities in the Caribbean. In this phase of development, CWUIC’s main components, governance framework, potential sources of funding, and target members have been largely defined. As a result, the IDB Group plans to submit a proposal to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) requesting funding for CWUIC. Before the IDB Group submits the proposal to the GCF, it must define the entity—whether an existing one or one to be created—in which CWUIC will be established. The K&M team is advising the IDB on the best alternatives for establishing CWUIC

The IDB Invest hired K&M Advisors and Alliant to support to perform feasibility analyses, and pave the way, for a Mutual for Caribbean Water and Sewerage Companies to insure Natural Disasters Related Risks (the Mutual). It is expected that the Mutual will generate an impact reducing the recovery time and cost of water and sanitation systems after some specific natural disasters such as hurricane and increase their resilience against such events. Specifically, the consultancy will Draft a feasibility report and a practical business plan which are to: i. structure a facility to provide urgent funds for the impacted water utilities after natural disasters to restore their water supply and sanitation including to support mutual assistance and post disaster support from participating water utilities; ii. structure a facility to provide some financial instruments to mobilize other resources to support water utility companies’ long-term re-construction after such events; iii. structure a parametric insurance of losses – amount set in function of the magnitude of the climate events – to be defined through risks to be reinsured, deductibles and limits of covers thus requiring a minimal equity component; iv. propose a feasible pathway to set up the Mutual.

K&M and Alliant Insurance Services Inc. (Alliant) were retained to provide additional advisory services toward the development of the proposed Caribbean Water Utility Insurance Company (CWUIC). In 2019, the K&M-Alliant team performed a feasibility analyses and developed a business plan for a Mutual for Caribbean Water and Sewerage Companies to insure Natural Disasters Related Risks (the Mutual). This assignment will further define the components needed to launch CWUIC’s operations. This work will include, engaging with relevant stakeholder in jurisdiction with a high level of interest in CWUIC, developing a financial model to assess CQUIC’s financial viability under a range of scenarios, developing post-disaster utility exchange support, workshopping to present results and recommendations to key stakeholders, and producing updated recommendations regarding the legal, organizational, and financial components of CWUIC. The K&M-Alliant team will present their findings and recommendations and will submit an updated work plan for the next steps to develop CWUIC.