Consultancy to develop a case for special consideration proposal to the office of the utilities regulation for WWF repowering project
K&M was hired by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to provide expert consultancy services to Wigton Windfarm Limited (WWF) in its strategic application to the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR). This collaboration is aimed at supporting WWF’s case for the re-powering of its Phase-I equipment. In this assignment, K&M was tasked with creating a detailed report for the WWF, under the commission of the CDB, to support WWF’s re-powering proposal before the OUR. The report aimed to provide a robust argument for special consideration of WWF’s project, addressing OUR’s concerns about the proposed PPA price, efficiency gains, and the broader implications of the project’s approval. K&M’s role involved presenting market research to underscore the financial model and PPA pricing suggested by WWF, justifying the financial assumptions against market dynamics, and directly responding to the OUR’s feedback. Additionally, K&M proposed a structured methodology for the OUR to evaluate WWF’s and similar future re-powering projects, considering their strategic significance to the national energy landscape. This comprehensive approach was designed to facilitate understanding and alignment between WWF’s objectives and the OUR’s regulatory standards, paving the way for informed decision-making regarding the re-powering initiative.
WWF hired K&M to conduct a comprehensive training program for Wington on Financial Modeling for Renewable Energy (RE) Projects. This virtual training is designed to equip Wington with the skills to develop a financial model that aligns with the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) standards. The program is structured into two parts, spread over three days. Part 1 focuses on the core components of a financial model for RE projects, addressing crucial aspects like the levelized cost of electricity, financing requirements, annual electricity output, impact of varying assumptions, and key financial indicators such as Internal Rate of Return and EBITDA margin. This section includes detailed instructions on modeling various phases of project development, capital and operational expenditures, revenue generation, financial statements, and essential financial and operational indicators. Part 2 offers a practical walkthrough of the financial model K&M developed for Wigton, illustrating the model’s modules, data sources, calculations, interrelations, and application in sensitivity analysis.
K&M was contracted to develop a business plan for a rooftop solar company in Jamaica. This business plan will provide accessible financing and savings on monthly electricity payments through leasing and hire purchase rooftop solar models to residential, commercial and industrial customers.
The National Water Commission (NWC) in Jamaica is working on a multi-year financial planning exercise. In support of this work, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) contracted K&M to develop an advanced, detailed, and dynamic financial model. To further support NWC in its multi-year financial planning exercise, K&M is providing capacity building and training to the NWC regarding the use of advanced simulations with the financial model. The K&M model will allow NWC to make detailed 10-year projections of the financial statements.
K&M was hired by a private client to provide a detailed analysis on the viability of Noble Group Holdings Limited using publicly available information or information provided by the Client. K&M research will include market intelligence of the recent restructuring of Noble Group. An understanding of the recent changes in the organization and their shareholders strategy will also be provided.
K&M was engaged by the World Bank to assist the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSC) to structure, competitively procure and negotiate the 60 MW Rockfort IPP. The project is located in an industrial area at Kingston Harbor, and consists of 3×20 MW low speed MHI diesel units and all associated support facilities. The generators are of a two stroke valveless design and use heavy fuel oil. K&M’s work was organized in two phases.
During Phase I K&M reviewed the existing legal, regulatory and institutional framework and identified specific constraints to be addressed before private power projects could be realized. During Phase II K&M analyzed the project’s feasibility; drafted and issued prequalification documents; identified, analyzed and allocated risks; developed the contractual structure; draft tender documents and project agreements; supervised the tendering process; and participated in the bid evaluation, developer selection and contract negotiations.
This was the first IPP in the Caribbean and in Jamaica to reach financial close. A principle feature of the financing package was a credit enhancement to facilitate use of Caribbean Basin Projects Financing Authority (CARIFA) 936 bond financing. Additionally, the project secured the first financing offered by Jamaica’s newly established Private Sector Energy Fund, which was developed by the World Bank to promote and facilitate private sector participation in energy development. The US$114 million project reached financial close in 1994 and commercial operation in 1996.
K&M was engaged by USAID to assist the Jamaica Public Service Company, Ltd., the state-utility, to establish the regulatory and technical conditions necessary for the development of private power projects on a turnkey basis. K&M’s scope of work included: identifying regulatory and legal barriers, prepared pre-qualification notices and documents used to short-list project developers, establishing evaluation criteria for the prequalification process, preparing construction contracts, preparing tender documents, and writing Implementation and Power Purchase Agreements. Directly resulting from K&M’s work, the Jamaica Public Service Company procured private turnkey contracts for over 200 MW of additional capacity to its system. This represented an approximate 37% increase in installed capacity over the entire national grid system.
K&M served as Owner’s Engineer to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSC) for implementation of its Hunt’s Bay Power Project, a $23.2 million, 33 MW facility. K&M was responsible for startup and commissioning of the plant. K&M organized an international competitive selection process for the EPC contractor, and evaluated/selected the turnkey contractor according to World Bank standards. K&M brought the project to completion, from initial feasibility study to operation, in under 1-1/2 years on time and on budget.
The project was performed in two phases. In Phase I, technical services included: project feasibility study, conceptual design, bid package documents preparation, proposals evaluation, developer recommendation, and final EPC contract preparation. In Phase II, technical services included: design review, construction services oversight, and overall quality control for plant construction and start-up. The EPC contractor was the firm of Wallace O’Connor from Texas using local Sub-contractors.
K&M was engaged by a private investor to assist with a comprehensive technical and commercial due diligence to assess and value a potential acquisition of four power generation assets in Jamaica and Panama. The assets are HFO-fired reciprocating engines totaling 243.5 MW of capacity, of which 190 MW is contracted under PPAs in Jamaica and 53.5 MW operates in the Panamanian power market.
K&M was tasked with reviewing all technical and commercial aspects of the plant’s operations and with building a project finance valuation model to value the assets. K&M evaluated the technical performance of each power plant, which included engineering reviews of all operations, maintenance, and performance documentation and conducting on-site inspections of the plants. K&M built and delivered a project finance model of the assets, which included deriving and verifying all financial, commercial, and operational inputs, performing sensitivity analysis, and supporting the acquisition team with the determination of the client’s final and binding offer for the assets.
he Client, NCB Capital Markets was engaged as arrangers of a US$185-million bond issue for NFE South Power Holdings Ltd., an entity that will own the JAMALCO Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Plant located in Clarendon, Jamaica. The 94 MW plant is set up to provide power to the local utility, and steam to JAMALCO, a bauxite mining and alumina production company also located in Clarendon, Jamaica.
As part of the condition of the Client’s board approval, the Client engaged K&M to provide the services of an Independent Technical Advisor to validate the technical information received from the Owner in regard to the current status of the project construction and the value of the construction work completed up to date, among other things.