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 general objective of this consultancy was to prepare the technical, economic, and legal feasibility studies for the introduction of green hydrogen in the energy supply for the domestic market, as well as the supply of an international market from Panama.

In this assignment, K&M was responsible for assessing the potential routes for commercializing green hydrogen from Panama, identifying the role of Panama in the green hydrogen supply chain, developing a methodology for prioritizing capital investments in green hydrogen, and carrying out the economic analysis and risk analysis of developing green hydrogen facilities in Panama.

With the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) conducted an evaluation of hydrogen and geothermal energy development across five countries in Latin America. As part of this project, K&M contributed specifically to the geothermal energy development component, focusing on three countries: El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Peru.

K&M undertook the task of producing a Policy Brief, aiming to identify past and existing bottlenecks, potential risks, inherent advantages, and future opportunities pertaining to geothermal energy development in El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Peru. The Policy Brief served as a comprehensive document outlining the findings and recommendations for various stakeholders, including governments within the region, multilateral organizations, official development assistance agencies, the private sector, and other relevant entities that emerged throughout the research process. The aim was to provide actionable recommendations to support and facilitate geothermal energy development in the region.

The Water and Sewerage Corporation of The Bahamas has engaged K&M to undertake the preparation of a Corporate Business Plan. The primary objective of this consultancy is to develop a comprehensive plan that will guide the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s activities from 2023 to 2027. The plan will encompass various aspects such as service quality, operational efficiency, financial management, capital investments, and the legal and regulatory framework.

Within this assignment, K&M has been assigned the following responsibilities:

1. Preparation of a financial model for the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) to facilitate effective financial planning and management.
2. Conducting a cost of service study for WSC, which will help determine the appropriate pricing structure for services.
3. Developing an action plan for tariffs, ensuring a strategic approach to tariff adjustments in line with the cost of service study outcomes.
4. Providing advisory support on existing water supply contracts, reviewing their terms and conditions, and making recommendations for improvements or updates.
5. Creating a prioritized capital expenditure (CAPEX) plan for WSC, outlining investments aimed at enhancing operational efficiency, improving service quality, and strengthening the overall resilience of the organization. Additionally, developing a financing plan to support the implementation of the CAPEX plan.
6. Recommending changes to government policies and the legal and regulatory framework governing the water and sewerage sector, aiming to create an enabling environment for WSC’s operations.
7. Establishing a baseline of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure customer satisfaction, enabling WSC to monitor and enhance its service delivery.
8. Providing advisory support for the update of WSC’s emergency response plan, ensuring preparedness and efficient response in emergency situations.
9. Ultimately, K&M will prepare the Corporate Business Plan itself, incorporating all the necessary components and recommendations.

Throughout the process, K&M will also lead stakeholder engagement forums and present the developed recommendations to the Government, ensuring transparency and collaboration in shaping the future of the Water and Sewerage Corporation of The Bahamas.

The World Bank, as part of an ongoing program to support SEDAPAL in improving its operational and commercial performance, hired K&M to provide support in strengthening SEDAPAL’s financial performance. As part of their assignment, K&M supported SEDAPAL through workshops aimed at developing an action plan to enhance the organization’s financial management. This action plan had been formulated as terms of reference for contracting services financed by a World Bank loan and had constituted one of the components of Component 2 of the Program.

K&M’s scope of work included the following:

1. K&M conducted a desk review of at least three years of SEDAPAL’s financial statements. This review involved analyzing the financial performance and trends over the specified period.
2. An analysis of key financial indicators and their benchmarking across other water utilities in Latin America had been carried out by K&M. This analysis allowed for a comparison of SEDAPAL’s financial performance with similar entities in the region.
3. K&M conducted an analysis of the current tariff structure employed by SEDAPAL. This assessment aimed to identify any areas for improvement in terms of revenue generation and cost recovery.
4. Recommendations for the enhancement of SEDAPAL’s financial management had been developed by K&M. These recommendations included strategies and measures to improve financial planning, budgeting, and reporting.
5. Materials and analysis results had been prepared by K&M for the client through virtual workshops. These workshops facilitated discussions and knowledge sharing to support the implementation of the action plan.
6. Additionally, K&M contributed to the creation of part of the project appraisal document (PAD). Their input had been included either in the main text or as an annex, describing SEDAPAL’s areas of financial improvement and the corresponding recommendations.

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

FortisTCI was negotiating its regulatory framework with the Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG) while the Government was also considering developing a multisector regulatory agency. FortisTCI hired K&M to assist them in writing a response to Kairi Consultants, a consulting firm hired by TCIG to assess the existing regulatory frameworks for public utilities. K&M prepared a Report on Reform of the Regulatory Framework Applicable to FortisTCI. This report described FortisTCI and its applicable regulatory framework, benchmarked regulatory frameworks in other Caribbean jurisdictions, and provided recommendations for the relevant framework for regulating FortisTCI.

The IDB has contracted K&M to provide a report for publication on water utilities in the Caribbean. This report will include benchmarking the key operational and financial indicators for water utilities in the Caribbean, exploring the scope of benefits from implementing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) reduction projects, assessing the impact on COVID-19, and identifying levels of resilience to natural disasters. This report will also provide recommendation to governments and water utilities on actions they can take to improve performance and resiliency of water utilities. K&M will: • Benchmark the operational and financial performance of water utilities in the Caribbean. This will also include benchmarking access to water and sanitation, quality of service, operating efficiency, and affordability of tariffs.
• Complementing the work IDB has recently been doing to assist water utilities in the Caribbean with reducing NRW, we will highlight utilities that have had success in reducing NRW (for example, NWC in Jamaica, BWS in Belize, and WSC in The Bahamas) and show how that success has contributed to improved operational and financial performance.
• Describe the impact of COVID-19 has had on water utilities in the Caribbean, including an assessment of the impact on demand, revenues, collections, operating expenses, and liquidity.
• Detail the physical and monetary damages that water utilities in the Caribbean have incurred from natural disasters in recent years.
• Provide recommendation to governments and water utilities on actions they can take to improve performance and resiliency of water utilities.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) contracted K&M Advisors to develop financial simulations that have been used to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on water utilities in the Caribbean, and to identify measures and/or instruments that can be put in place in the short term to mitigate those impacts. The Ministry of Public Utilities (MPU) of Trinidad and Tobago has requested that a financial model and accompanying user manual be prepared by K&M Advisors specifically for Trinidad and Tobago’s Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA). In addition to modeling the impacts of COVID-19, this financial model will also consider the regulatory framework, economic structure, water and sanitation sector in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the structure of WASA. The financial model will be used to make strategic operating and policy decisions related to improvement of the utility and provide support the government in its re-negotiation of desalination contracts. In particular, the model will help WASA and the MPU prepare a plan to be submitted in November 2020 to cabinet level officials of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.