Saint Lucia has been experiencing increasingly severe weather systems, largely because of climate change globally. These extreme weather events threaten LUCELEC’s critical infrastructure. LUCELEC understands that the St. Lucian grid is not currently built to resist the strongest of storms (Category 5 and above) and intends to update its grid construction standards and take actions to incrementally improve system resilience so that it is capable of withstanding Atlantic storms, which are expected t increase in severity and frequency due to climate change.

In preparation for these actions, LUCELEC engaged K&M Team to prepare a study that would address the following two major topics:

• Providing a means of measuring current grid resilience and setting annual resilience targets and
• Analyzing the electrical network infrastructure in St. Lucia using inspections, models, and other tools to identify a pipeline of projects to increase the resiliency of the transmission and distribution networks, generation assets, and LUCELEC’s solar farm.

Throughout the study, K&M will develop a reliability metric to track LUCELEC’s progress in improving system resilience. This will involve reviewing and analyzing system data, conducting interviews with LUCELEC’s senior staff, performing a site visit, and identifying a prioritized pipeline of climate resilience projects. The ultimate goal is to enable LUCELEC to develop a specific grid resilience improvement plan.

During the course of the study, K&M developed a reliability metric that would allow LUCELEC to measure their progress in improving system resilience, review and analyze the system data, conduct interviews with LUCELEC’s senior staff, perform a site visit, identify the pipeline of the climate resilience projects, and prioritize the projects to allow LUCELEL to develop a specific grid resilience improvement plan.

Sixth Street engaged K&M for a technical due diligence review of a new 940 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle electric generating facility in the Village of Lordstown, Trumbull County, OH. The project will feature a 2×1 configuration, employing two Siemens Energy SGT6-8000H 1.6 combustion turbine-generator units (CTGs), two Nooter/Eriksen heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs), and one Siemens steam turbine generator (STG). The facility, collectively known as the Power Island Equipment (PIE), may utilize Vogt or Siemens HTT HRSGs. Additionally, the project will incorporate supplemental firing and evaporative cooling for enhanced power output in specific conditions.

K&M conducted a technical due diligence review, focusing on the Independent Engineer’s report, EPC and O&M contracts, and financial model assumptions. Following the review, K&M prepared a memo identifying project risks and recommending adjustments to the financial model assumptions.

K&M was contracted by Guinéenne d’Energie (GDE) to perform a pre-feasibility study for a new gas-fired power plant project in Conakry. The objective of this assignment is to identify the size and timing of gas-fired capacity additions that are economically justified in the Guinean grid, estimate the economically justified electricity generation using natural gas and resulting gas demand, assess the viable generation options for a new gas-fired power plant in Conakry, and develop an implementation plan for progressing the project from its current conceptual stage to a commissioning stage.

K&M’s scope of work included:

K&M has commenced this pre-feasibility study by collecting data on the current state of the power system in Guinea and developing a simplified model to estimate thermal capacity requirements to meet annual peak and reserve requirements. From this work, K&M has identified the size and timing of gas-fired capacity additions that are economically justified in the Guinean grid. K&M also developed a simplified merit-order dispatch model to estimate the dispatch of a new gas-fired power plant and calculate the resulting gas demand. Later, the team assessed viable interconnection arrangements between the power plant and transmission system substation, evaluated site conditions, and identified viable technologies and configurations. K&M also calculated and compared the marginal costs and the Levelized cost of electricity for each generation technology option. Lastly, the team assisted the project by developing an implementation plan to help progress the project from the current conceptual stage to the commissioning stage.

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.

A confidential Colombian equity fund which provides debt and/or equity financing to power projects engaged K&M to perform a technical, environmental, and social due diligence review of a gas-fired reciprocating engine power generation project composed by six (6) Wartsila 20V34SG generating units, three (3) Jenbacher JGC 320 GS-SL gensets as well as a dedicated gas supply line and 115kV electric transmission line. The technical due diligence review was for a transaction where the confidential client is interested to acquire and operate the asset. K&M’s scope of work included technical due diligence of the power generation assets, as well as environmental legal compliance, and compliance with IFC Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability.

The National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), a national electric utility responsible for operating Jordan’s transmission network planning system expansion including procurement of new generating facilities selected the Attarat Power Company, a private company incorporated in Jordan, whose shares are owned Malaysian, Chinese, and Estonia entities, to develop, design, finance, construct, test, commission, complete, own, insure, operate and maintain a 470 MW (net) oil shale fired power plant (together with the mine and water extraction facilities). The project consists of two 235 MW (net) unit. The project will sell its capacity and energy to NEPCO under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). K&M was selected to serve as an Independent Engineer on the project serving both NEPCO and APCO and getting paid by both parties on a 50/50 basis.

A confidential US client which provides debt and/or equity financing to power projects engaged K&M to perform a commercial due diligence review to support a loan transaction for the Inkia generation portfolio.

A confidential US client which provides debt and/or equity financing to power projects engaged K&M to perform a technical due diligence review. The technical due diligence review was for a transaction where the confidential client is providing debt financing to a holding company which has power assets in Peru and Guatemala.
For the assets in Peru, K&M performed a due diligence review of seven power plants including one gas turbine combined cycle power plant with capacity of 871 MW, three gas turbine simple cycle power plants with combined capacity of 1093 MW, and three hydropower plants with combined capacity of 933 MW. K&M reviewed operating and maintenance records, upgrade and expansion plans, inputs to the financial model, and identified major technical risks.
For the distribution company in Guatemala, K&M reviewed available information on conditions of the assets, historic operation data and key performance indicators including losses, collection rates, and service interruption statistics. K&M also identified major technical risks that could impact the company’s performance and financial projections.

K&M was contracted by the World Bank to review and prepare an outline for privately funded power generation projects in Pakistan. K&M evaluated the following projects: 1) 4×323 MW, oil-fired station, 2) 3×340 coal-fired station, 3) lignite-fired multi-unit station with fluidized bed combustion, and 4) hydroelectric station. K&M also assisted the World Bank in the preparation of cost estimates for these projects.

For the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and International Development and Energy Associates (IDEA), K&M provided a performance evaluation of the $20.5 million Conventional Energy Technical Assistance (CETA) project. The project’s primary purpose was to provide developing countries with technical assistance in exploring and evaluating their indigenous conventional energy resources and facilitating their access to technology, services, and capital investment.