DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. PO Box 602090 ● Plot 50668, Tholo Park, Fairgrounds ● Gaborone, Botswana ● Phone (267) 390 0884 ● Fax (267) 390 1027 ● [email protected]www.satradehub.org Technical Report: RERA-SATH Regulatory Practitioners Training Course, Course Director’s Report Smunda Mokoena, Course Director TEC20111023_Mokoena_Energy Regulators Training Submitted by: AECOM International Development Submitted to: USAID/Southern Africa October 16-21, 2011 USAID Contract No. 674-C-00-10-00075-00
Transcript
DISCLAIMER
The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.
NARUC National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
RERA Regulators Association of Southern Africa
SADC Southern African Development Community
SAPP Southern African Power Pool
SATH Southern African Trade Hub
USAID United States Agency for International Development
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On July 25, 2011, Smunda Mokoena of Best Infrastructure and Investments (Bii) was retained as Course Director under the auspices of the partnership between the Regional Electricity Regulators Association of Southern Africa (RERA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Southern African Trade Hub (SATH) to provide a Regulatory Practitioners Training Course.
The terms of reference for the assignment required that a five-day course for regulatory practitioners be designed and that it also take into account the regulation of renewable energy. Further, the Course Director, in collaboration with RERA and SATH, was required to identify and recruit suitable instructors (lecturers) for the course.
The course was originally scheduled to run from September 18-23, 2011. but due to logistical problems it was postponed to October 16-21, 2011. The course was held at the Protea Hotel Waterfront, Centurion, just outside Pretoria in South Africa. A total of 26 participants from Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia attended the course.
The course covered theory and principles of regulation, cost reflective tariff designs, capacity expansion plans in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), economic regulation, regulation of new investment, renewable energy regulation, energy efficiency and assessing regulatory performance. A total of seven regulatory experts drawn from within Southern Africa provided instruction on the course.
At the end of each session course participants were required to complete an evaluation form on how they rated the content, materials provided, the ability of the instructor, time management during the session and how discussion was facilitated. On average the entire course was rated 87.5% by the participants. Among the specific criteria course content was rated highest at 90% and the facilitation of discussion lowest at 85%. From the foregoing it is evident that the course was of benefit to participants.
The positive feedback notwithstanding, there are areas that can be improved upon in the delivery of such courses in the future. These include streamlining the contracting process for the Course Director and instructors to ensure that this is conducted in a timely and equitable manner. This would ensure that instructors have adequate time to prepare for their respective sessions and are appropriately incentivized to deliver. In addition, the content of some sessions would need to be enhanced in order to provide greater detail and depth.
It is clear that there is demand in the region and beyond for such tailor-made courses on regulation and funds allowing RERA-SATH should consider ways of holding these programs with some regularity.
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1. INTRODUCTION
The RERA-SATH Regulatory Practitioners Training Course was presented from October 16- 21, 2011.
The RERA-SATH Terms of Reference for the Course Director included the following key tasks:
a. Design a course that takes into account the regulation of Renewable Energy;
b. Schedule a five day course for regulatory practitioners;
c. In collaboration with RERA and SATH recruit instructors;
d. Prepare course materials;
e. Course delivery;
f. Carry out an evaluation of the course (with inputs from SATH and RERA); and
g. Produce a course report.
The deliverables for the course were:
a. One training course for regulatory practitioners;
b. At least 15 people from various SADC Member States trained in energy regulation leading to enhanced capacities and more effective utility regulation;
c. Post course report highlighting key findings, issues, lessons learned and suggestions for improvement; and
d. Course evaluation Instrument and report.
This Practitioners Course report is the last of the deliverables by the Course Director to RERA and SATH.
2. SCHEDULING OF COURSE
The course was initially scheduled to take place from September 18-23, 2011. The first announcement of the course was made on September 2, 2011, when a SATH registration form and the Practitioners Course Outline were sent to more than 600 RERA contact persons. The course registration deadline was given as Wednesday, September 7, 2011 and the required minimum number of participants targeted was 15. Participation was open to energy regulators, power utility experts, government officials, consultants, academicians and other interested parties in regulation.
The course was postponed for reasons beyond the control of the Course Director and Organizers. On September 20 the Course Director was advised that due to challenges of logistics, time constraints and the tightness of the schedule to meet the number of participants to make the training economically viable SATH would reschedule the training program to October to ensure success. The organizers did not amend the Course Director’s contract to accommodate the change or the postponement of dates. In addition the contractual processes for the instructors that would support the Course Director to carry out the training had to be initiated.
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The second announcement indicating that the course would take place from October 16- 21, 2011 was made on October 7, 2011.
The Course Director performed the following activities to recruit Instructors as contracted:
Preparation of course outline (See cover page in Appendix D);
Preparation of scope of work for instructors (Sample cover page in Appendix E);
Communication with instructors and sourcing of CVs.
The changed course dates did not suite all the instructors, hence the Course Director had to recruit replacement instructors and redo the scope of work for these instructors. It was further required to swop sessions around to accommodate instructor availability. The session numbers were retained, but the sequence of presentation altered.
For the purpose of preparing Course Material on Saturday October 20, 2011, and Sunday October 21, 2011, and in order to assist with the registration of participants, the Course Director hired a Resource Person for seven days.
3. ATTENDANCE
The Practitioners Training Course was attended by 30 participants from six countries in the SADC region. The demographics of the attendees are shown in the table below.
Table 1: Demographic distribution of attendees
Country Number of participants
Regulatory Agency
Utility Industry Female Male
Mozambique 2 2
2
Namibia 3 3
1 2
Rwanda 2 2
2
South Africa 17 13 3 1 9 8
Swaziland 2 1 1
2
Zambia 4 4
1 3
Total 30 25 4 1 11 19
% 100.0% 83.3% 13.3% 3.3% 36.7% 63.3%
Attendance was spread as follows:
57% of attendees were from South Africa;
83% of attendees were from Regulatory agencies;
36% of attendees were female.
The course was presented by the Course Director and six Instructors (total of seven lecturers). Also in attendance were 5 persons from the organising institutions: SATH, RERA, and USAID Southern Africa.
The attendance list and SATH Course Registration Form is contained in Appendix A.
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NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
The number of participants varied in the sessions (as indicated in Table 3, below) from 17 to 26 participants.
Figure 1 shows the number of participants who attended the sessions. Session 9 on basic tariff design and session 10 on cost reflective tariff design were the best attended, indicating great interest in the subject. This is also evident from the RERA-SATH course evaluation where tariff design and determination was indicated as a training need. Some disappointment were expressed that network tariffs were not adequately covered.
Sessions 5, 6, 7 and 8 on economic regulation were also very popular and received a high rating from participants.
Figure 1: Number of participants attending the sessions
Note that sessions 9 to 12 and 5 to 7 were swopped, hence the session numbers are not in sequence.
4. COURSE EVALUATION INSTRUMENTS
The Course Director designed a course evaluation instrument for each session of the course (Appendix B) and an overall course evaluation instrument. SATH did, however, bring along the overall course evaluation form (Appendix C). After consultation, the Course Director decided to use the SATH course evaluation instrument for the overall course evaluation.
Each session of the course was evaluated on the following dimensions:
Course Content
Course Material
Instructors
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Time Management
Discussion Management
A four point scale was used for the session evaluation, as follows:
.Criteria Score
Did not meet needs / expectations 1
Partially met needs / expectations 2
Met needs / expectations 3
Exceeded needs / expectations 4
Did not participate N/A
The Course Director’s session evaluation instrument is attached as Appendix B.
The SATH overall course evaluation instrument (Appendix C) evaluates the overall course on the following dimensions:
Training Content;
Facilitator and method of delivery;
Additional comments
o 3 most useful things
o Other topics that should be covered
o How has the training enhanced your capacity to perform?
o What follow up action to be taken?
o Other Comments
A 5 point scale was used in this evaluation with 1 being “poor” and 5 being “excellent”.
5. ORGANISATION OF COURSE CONTENT AND INSTRUCTORS
Nineteen sessions were presented by the Course Director and six Instructors under the themes indicated below.
Table 2: Sessions and instructors
Session Instructor Code
THEORY AND PRINCIPLES OF REGULATION
Session 1: Regulatory institutions and governance. Smunda MOKOENA SM
Session 2: Theory and principles of regulation (Cont.) Smunda MOKOENA SM
Session 3: Role and Functions of the Regulator. Smunda MOKOENA SM
Session 4: Theory and principles of economic regulation. Boitumelo KIEPILE SM
Session 18: Assessing regulatory performance in the SADC region.
Joseph KAPIKA JK
Session 19: Regional energy regulatory cooperation. Elijah SICHONE ES
Course delegates were presented with Course Certificates by Ms. Erin Pacific, USAID Southern Africa, Chief Regional Economic and Growth Office. Ms. Phindile Nzimande, NERSA Chief Executive Officer and RERA Chairperson gave closing remarks.
The Course Certificates were signed by both the Chief of Party of SATH and the Chairperson of RERA. The delivery of the certificates to the venue was problematic. Due to the logistical reasons simulated certificate presentations were made and the Course Director was asked to insert the names of delegates who attended and facilitate the distribution of the certificates.
6. COURSE MATERIAL
On registration delegates were issued with the following:
Course Outline (Cover attached as Appendix E)
Presentations File (Cover and Table of Contents attached as Appendix F)
Name tag; and
Soft Copy Disk (CD cover attached as Appendix G) containing:
o Session presentations;
o Background reading material (References);
o Course evaluation forms;
o Course outline.
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The Course Outline, presentation files and soft copy discs were provided by the Course Director to Course delegates against the Registration Record (Appendix H). The Course Director prepared 40 copies / items for each of these materials.
7. SESSION EVALUATION RESULTS
The scores provided by each participant in the sessions are summarized in Appendix I. The results were analyzed for each dimension and is recorded below.
It should be noted that:
The average score for all sessions of the course varied between 3.5 and 3.6 indicating that a reasonably consistent overall standard was maintained throughout the five-day course and that overall expectations were met.
The management of discussions received the lowest overall rating, however in the SATH evaluation at the end of the course, the learning from discussions was often mentioned as one of the top three useful things experienced.
Course content received the highest overall rating.
The average score of all participants for each session is summarized per dimension as shown below.
Figure 2: Average score of all participants for each session dimension
The scores for each dimension are shown per session in Figure 3. It can be seen that sessions 1, 2, 15, 16, 17, and 18 were below the average score for the course on all dimensions. However, the subject matter in these sessions was rated high and participants indicated significant benefit there from. The presentations in these sessions were fairly long. This impacted the time for in depth discussion and the time management scores.
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Figure 3: Average score of all participants for each session and dimension
The average score per session and per dimension is given in Table 3.
Table 3: Average score per session
Session number
Instruc-tor code
No of partici-pants
Course Content
Course Material
Instruc-tors
Time Man.
Dis-cussion
Session Average
1 SM 19 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.2 3.3
2 SM 22 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.3 2.9 3.2
3 SM 22 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.5
4 BK 18 3.4 3.4 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6
9 BK 26 3.6 3.5 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.6
10 BK 23 3.6 3.4 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.5
11 LM 21 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.7 3.5 3.7
12 LM 16 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.3 3.5 3.6
5 BS 23 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.6
6 BS 23 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.6
7 BS 23 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.6
8 BS 23 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.6
13 JK 20 3.5 3.4 3.6 3.5 3.5 3.5
14 JK 17 3.8 3.7 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8
15 BB 18 3.4 3.3 3.1 3.3 3.1 3.2
16 BB 17 3.5 3.4 3.2 3.4 3.2 3.4
17 BB 19 3.6 3.3 3.0 3.4 3.0 3.3
18 JK 17 3.3 3.3 3.0 3.4 3.0 3.2
19 ES 21 3.8 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7 3.7
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Session number
Instruc-tor code
No of partici-pants
Course Content
Course Material
Instruc-tors
Time Man.
Dis-cussion
Session Average
Course
3.6 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.5
COURSE CONTENT
Figure 4 shows the average score for course content in each session. The scores for sessions 1 to 4, 13, 15, 16 and 18 are below the average. The highest scores are for session 12 (SAPP Capacity Plans), 14 (Regulating private sector investments) and 19 (Regional co-operation).
Figure 4: Rating of course content per session
COURSE MATERIAL
Figure 5 shows the average score for course material in each session. The scores for sessions 1, 2, 4, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18 are below the average. The highest scores are for the same sessions where content were rated the highest, I.e. for session 12 (SAPP Capacity Plans), 14 (Regulating private sector investments) and 19 (Regional co-operation).
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Figure 5: Rating of course presentation and reference material per session
INSTRUCTORS
Figure 6 shows the average score for the presenters of each session. The scores for sessions 1, 2, 3, 15, 16, 17 and 18 are below the average. The highest scores are for session 11 (IRP 2010 strategies) and 14 (Regulating private sector investments). The rating of instructors may have been affected by some instructors having to stand in for others who could not attend due to various reasons such as the change in the course dates.
Figure 6: Rating of course presentation and reference material per session
TIME MANAGEMENT
Figure 7 shows the average score for the presenters of each session. The scores for sessions 1, 2, 3, 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18 are below the average. The highest scores are for
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session 11 (IRP 2010 strategies) and 14 (Regulating private sector investments). Those sessions with lower scores had too much material to present and some of the early sessions started later than planned.
Figure 7: Rating of time management per session
DISCUSSION MANAGEMENT
Figure 8 shows the average score for the discussion management in each session. The scores for sessions 1 and 2, 15, 16, 17 and 18 are below the average. The highest scores are for session 14 (Regulating private sector investments) and 19 (Regional co-operation). Those sessions with lower scores had too much material to present, impacting discussions. In the SATH evaluation participation and discussions was identified as key success factors of the course.
Figure 8: Rating of discussion management per session
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8. RESULTS OF OVERALL SATH COURSE EVALUATION FORM / INSTRUMENT
Southern African Trade Hub (SATH) provided the course evaluation instrument (Appendix C). The course contents, facilitation and method of presentation were evaluated on the last day of the course using a five point scale. Twenty participants participated in the evaluation and their average score is shown in Figure 9 for each dimension.
The scores provided by each participant on the course evaluation instrument are summarized in Appendix J and are also summarized in Table 4.
Table 4: Average score per dimension evaluated
Dimension rated Average score out of 5
Training Content Expectations met 3.9
Objectives clear 4.15
Objectives addressed 4.05
Organisation & Flow 3.85
Applicable 4
Relevant 3.95
Overall rating 4.15
Facilitator and method of delivery Facilitator knowledge 4.25
Response to questions 3.9
Delivery method 4.1
The average score for the course is at a level above 4, indicating that overall participants valued the course and rated it highly.
The lowest ratings, below the average for all dimensions are for the following aspects:
Expectations met were rated at 3.9. Some candidates expected more detailed training and there were different expectations amongst participants.
Organization and easy flow of material was rated the lowest at 3.85. There were some complaints that presentations were updated but not handed out at the start of the session; that the handouts in the folder were printed too small and that some of the references were old.
Response to questions was rated at 3.9. Concerns were that some instructors were reluctant to enter into debate and that instructors should solicit contributions and discussion from participants.
The highest rated dimensions are:
Facilitator / instructor knowledge was rated at 4.25.
Clear objectives rated at 4.15.
Overall course rating of 4.15. It is interesting to note that the course rating is well above the arithmetic average of the dimension ratings.
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Figure 9: Rating of training content, facilitation and delivery of course
9. PARTICIPANT RESPONSE TO INVITED QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
The SATH course evaluation instrument provides for a number of open ended questions to participants. All the responses to these questions are summarised below. Those responses of a similar nature are combined and the responses are listed starting with those aspects mentioned the most frequently.
MOST USEFUL THINGS
What are the three things you found most useful in this training / seminar?
Response of participants Number of times mentioned
Sharing of experience / other countries 5
Practical examples / exercises 4
Networking opportunities 4
Adequate and relevant scope / topics 4
Market reform and Private sector investment 4
Delegate participation / discussion 4
Lot to learn / continued learning 4
SAPP / regional integration / Understanding of power sector in region / SADC regional level info
4
Cost reflectivity / Tariff design 3
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Facilitator / Instructor subject knowledge 3
Energy Efficiency 3
Economic regulation 3
Detailed content of references 2
Global focus 1
Theories and principles of economic regulation 1
Good mix of subject matter 1
ISMO discussion 1
Calculation of WACC / ROR 1
Info on regulatory process 1
Renewable energy 1
OTHER TOPICS
Are there any areas or topics that you feel ought to have been covered in this training but were not? Please give details.
Response of participants Number of times mentioned
Resellers of electricity - licensing, registry 2
Engineering factors that impair tariffs 1
Network tariffs 1
Spreadsheet exercise of tariff determination 1
Cost of supply study 1
Pro-poor regulation, politics of regulation, 1
Basic technical aspects of utility operations 1
Case studies around the world 1
IMPACT ON PERFORMING YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
How has this training enhanced your capacity to perform your responsibilities in your position?
Response of participants Number of times mentioned
New insights / New knowledge re SAPP power trading / Well grounded knowledge outside scope of work, Insight into planning of tariff reviews
5
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Response of participants Number of times mentioned
Greater understanding of the role of regulator and tariff methodology
3
Economic regulation explanations will assist to perform duties.
3
Gave theory and practical application 2
Confidence in tariff application and design / confidence built
2
Appreciation of Regulatory challenges 1
Functions and principles of regulation of great benefit. 1
Standardise processes 1
Assessment of cost reflectivity 1
Dealing with social issues and economic growth. 1
Understanding of regional integration of regulatory aspects. 1
Missed network tariffs 1
Not much, expected more depth 1
FOLLOW UP ACTION
What follow up action are you going to take after this training?
Response of participants Number of times mentioned
Research of topics further in references / Enhance knowledge of regulation / research economic regulation
6
Debrief colleagues. 3
Implement the learning / Attend other courses (EEDSM) to enhance implementation
3
Liaison with IPP developers, Eskom, SAPP 2
Recommend to colleagues to attend same course 1
Networking with instructors 1
Know more re IPPs, cross border trading, Network tartiffs. 1
Basic technical / financial training for non-technical staff. 1
Do comparative case studies 1
Commissioners training 1
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OTHER COMMENTS
Response of participants Number of times mentioned
High standard, well planned, continue / Generally a good course.
2
Excellent, practical and tangible skills transfer 1
Commendable effort by RERA-SATH 1
Need more such forums 1
Need practical exercises in tariff determination required 2
Need group visits to facilities referred to in course. 1
Need depository on investment activity as reference document.
1
Need municipal tariff design and cost of supplying electricity
1
Greater in depth assessment of investment cost. 1
At most 2 slides per page & print on both sides. 1
Updated presentations to be included at start of session. 1
Start programme on weekday, not Sunday 1
10. CONCLUSIONS
There is room to improve the contracting process of the Course Director and Instructors in terms of the clarity, timing and co-ordination between the organisers and persons managing the contracting process to work with the Course Director and Instructors.
From the analysis of the course evaluation it is evident that the Regulatory Practitioners Course was of significant benefit to participants.
The feedback provided by participants gives a good indication of what needs to be improved and what aspects must be addressed in future such courses.
The most significant benefits to delegates were:
The opportunity to share experiences;
The networking opportunity;
The learning opportunity; and
The discussions and questions posed by delegates.
The topics that participants want to know more about are:
The licensing and registry of resellers of electricity;
Engineering factors that influence and impairs tariffs;
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Tariffs, in particular: Network tariffs; Cost of supply study; Engineering factors influencing tariffs and spreadsheet exercises on tariff determination;
Pro-poor regulation and the political, social and economic impact of regulation;
Case studies around the world.
Participants were largely positive about the impact the course would have on their performance in their positions. The greatest impacts are expected to come from:
New insights and knowledge gained;
Confidence gained in tariff design;
Appreciation of regulatory challenges, the role of the regulator, the regulatory process and the functions and principles of regulation.
One participant expected more depth in the course and another missed some aspects mentioned in the course overview that was not thoroughly discussed.
Regarding follow up action after the course, the top actions were stated as:
Research of reference material to further enhancement knowledge;
Debriefing colleagues in the workplace and recommend they attend the same course;
Liaison with IPP developers, Eskom, SAPP and networking with instructors; and
Doing comparative case studies.
Other comments volunteered by participants were largely positive, complementing the high standard, excellent skills transfer, the practical nature of the course and requesting that the course continue as there is a need for much more such forums. The negative comments were largely about the course material not being up to date and the depth of certain sessions.
The overall conclusion is that the Practitioners Training Course was of significant value to the participants. The effort that went into planning and presenting the course was, however, significantly more than originally expected. This is partially due to the change to the scheduled course timing and partially due to the learning experience of organizing the course and recruiting instructors at short notice.
11. RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations are made to improve future RERA-SATH courses:
Instructors
The contracts with instructors should be firmed up in good time to prevent withdrawal of instructors and the need to reallocate sessions to new instructors with short notice periods.
There should be effective co-ordination between parties who are involved in the course content and those involved in contracting with those parties.
The Scope of Work of the Course Director and Instructors should be clarified upfront.
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Course content:
The flow of the course should be enhanced. This could be achieved by grouping subject matter into basics of regulation, advanced regulation (with practical examples) and regional topics of the day such as SAPP, energy efficiency, renewable energy, security of supply challenges;
More detail is required on the design of network tariffs, regulation of resellers, pro-poor regulation, the politics of regulation and the social and economic impacts of regulation.
Certain sections could be provided with more depth. Alternatively, there is room for a basic and advanced course to meet the different needs of participants.
Course material
Late changes to course material should not be made. Where made it should be handed out to participants before presenting it. (It should be noted that at the time of writing this report, the concerned instructors submitted the updated and additional material to the Course Director who in turn forwarded same to course delegates, RERA and SATH.)
Handouts should not have more than two slides per page and back-to-back copies should be considered.
Time Management
Some of the sessions had too much material to be presented resulted in inadequate time for discussion. These sessions should be adjusted to cover less material or a session should be added and could be rationalized to reduce overlap..
Discussion Management
In the course evaluation responses participants requested more solicitation of discussions and devoting adequate time to the discussions, since this is the area where delegates learnt a lot about the issues in the Region.
Overall recommendation
The Practitioners Training Course should be conducted over a longer time frame of say 3-years, and the Course Director and Instructors be contracted well in advance to present the training.
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APPENDIX A - ATTENDANCE LIST
No. TITLE FIRST NAME LAST NAME ORGANISATION COUNTRY EMAIL STATUS
1 Mr Ilidio Bambo National Electricity Advisory Council
Please kindly fill out this form to evaluate the proceedings of this workshop/ seminar. Your honest feedback will go a long way in improving future workshops by the Trade Hub. Using a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is very poor and 5 is excellent, tick the appropriate box to rate the performance/value of items and areas below.
Training/Workshop Title ___________________________________________________________ Venue _________________________________________ Date ________________________
The training/seminar met my expectations 1 2 3 4 5
Training/seminar objectives were clear 1 2 3 4 5
Training/seminar objectives have been addressed 1 2 3 4 5
The content was organized and easy to follow 1 2 3 4 5
I will be able to apply the knowledge learned 1 2 3 4 5
The materials distributed were relevant and useful 1 2 3 4 5
Overall rating of the training/seminar 1 2 3 4 5
2. FACILITATORS AND METHODS OF DELIVERY
Facilitator 1: Facilitator 2:
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
The facilitator was knowledgeable of the subject matter 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
The facilitator displayed good presentation skills 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
The facilitator responded to questions satisfactorily 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
The facilitator effectively managed group dynamics 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Methods of delivery, including the use of audio/visual aids, presentations, group discussions etc. were appropriate 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
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ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
3. What are the three things you found most useful in this training/ seminar?
a. ________________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________________
c. ________________________________________________________________________
4. Are there any areas or topics that you feel ought to have been covered in this training but were not? Please give details. ___________________________________________________________
Title: Course Instructor/Facilitator – Training Course for Regulatory Practitioners
Period: 19 – 28 September 2011 (For preparation and presenting as per Course Programme)
Level of Effort: 4 days
I. Project Overview
The Southern Africa Trade Hub (SATH) seeks to increase international competitiveness, intra-regional trade and food security in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. SATH will realize this through supporting progress on the SADC regional integration agenda and increasing the trade capacity of regional value chains in selected sectors.
SATH’s team of technical advisors will deliver targeted assistance to governments, the private sector and civil society organizations throughout the SADC region to realize the advantages of greater regional and global trade linkages and export-oriented business development across eight activity components. One of those components is:
Strengthened Regional Capacity for Energy Sector Planning and Cooperation.
On the other hand the Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (RERA) in SADC regards the building of capacity and information sharing among regulatory board members/commissioners and practitioners will contribute towards the harmonization of regional regulatory frameworks. Harmonized regional regulatory frameworks may contribute in unlocking regional infrastructure energy projects that will contribute towards facilitating regional integration and trade.
II. Objective
As part of its support to capacity building of regional energy integration, SATH in collaboration with RERA, will facilitate the training of regulatory practitioners to reinforce
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good practices of utility regulation. In recent years the SADC Region’s demand for energy has outpaced generating capacity resulting in an energy crisis as is evident by the experience of frequent load-shedding and power outages. Furthermore, there is also an increasing awareness that Regulatory Agencies have a critical role in promoting investment in the option of renewable energy resources that exist in the region and thereby contribute to not only enhancing security of supply, but also in mitigating the destabilizing effects of climate change on economic growth, hydropower generation, as well as agriculture production and food security in the region.
Energy Regulatory Practitioners need to build the capacity to accelerate the contribution of clean energy technologies to the energy mix of the region through appropriate policies, regulations, and practices.
The main objectives of this consultancy are:
1. To prepare material for a Training Course for Regulatory Practitioners from the SADC Region;
2. To present the course material to the Regulatory Practitioners and facilitate discussions for the duration of the training session;
3. To serve as course instructor during the training session and preparations thereof; and
4. To serve as Consultant to RERA and SATH on the training material through the Course Director.
III. Specific Tasks
The key tasks for the Course Instructor/Facilitator include the following:
Prepare course material (module) for the regulatory practitioners in the SADC region as per the subject matter detailed in Appendix A1 and A2.
Deliver the course as scheduled in the Programme of the five-day Course for Regulatory Practitioners as shown in Appendix B and facilitate discussions amongst the Practitioners;
Carry out an evaluation of the course session in which the Instructor conducted training in collaboration with the Course Director; and
Produce an assessment of the course session and recommend areas of improvement that may be necessary for similar future courses.
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IV. Deliverables
1. Written course material (module) for the Regulator Practitioners in the SADC region as per the subject matter detailed in Appendix A1 and A2. Material to reach the Course Director not later than 5 working days prior to the commencement of the course.
2. Presentation slides of the course material to be used during delivery of the course to Commissioners/Regulator Board Members as per the written course material. Presentation slides to reach the Course Director not later than 5 working days prior to the commencement of the course.
3. Delivery of the course as scheduled in the Programme of the five-day Course for Regulatory Practitioners as shown in Appendix B and facilitated discussions amongst the Practitioners; and
4. Post course session assessment highlighting key findings, issues, lessons learned and suggestions for improvement.
V. Position Qualifications
The Consultant shall submit his/her abridged CV relevant to the project to the Course Director and shall have the following minimum qualifications to be considered for this consultancy:
Minimum of a graduate degree in economics, finance, legal or engineering field;
At least eight years’ experience working with energy regulation agencies and power utility issues;
Experience working with evaluation of renewable energy technologies;
Previous experience on Southern African regional energy policies and regulation issues;
Strong communications and training skills as well as effective report writing skills;
Experience of communicating at the highest levels of government, power utilities, energy regulatory agencies; and,
Experience working with RERA.
VI. Reporting and Contracting Arrangements
The Consultant will report to the Course Director, Mr Smunda MOKOENA, on all matters related the substance and delivery of the relevant project component. Deliverables shall be submitted to [email protected].
The Consultant will enter into contractual arrangements directly with Mr Robert Kirk, Chief of Party, ([email protected]) or his nominee. On all matters related to the
contractual arrangements of the project, the Consultant will liaise with Mr Kirk or his nominee and copies sent to [email protected].
APPENDIX A: SCOPE OF WORK – COURSE MATERIAL FOR THE ORIENTATION COURSE FOR PRACTIONERS TRAINING
Mr KIEPILE will be the instructor for two modules of the Practitioners Training Course. The modules will be presented in three sessions. The modules are described below.
APPENDIX A1
Subject 1: Module 3 – Theory and principles of economic regulation
Session: 4
Instructor: Mr Boitumelo KIEPILE
Date: Monday 19 September 2011
Time:
Session 4 from 16h00 to 17h30
Course Material
Module Outline
Purpose:
The purpose of this module is to provide practitioners with insights into the theory and principles of economic regulation.
Summary:
This module will be presented in one session and will cover the following material:
Major areas of Economic Regulation • Price- and tariff regulation: Access pricing • Service quality regulation: Minimum service quality standards • Regulation of entry and exit: Licensing
New regulatory tasks raised by liberalisation • Regulating access to essential facilities: Network, • Detect market power: Overlap with antitrust • Entry and exit • Regulators’ role in promoting the contestability of markets and new entrants • Supply security
Theories of regulation • Benevolence – capture • Perfect information – asymmetric information • Regulatory credibility and investors’ Trust • The „normative” theory: regulation is to correct market failures and improve
social welfare (public interest theory, benevolent regulator) • The „positive” theory: regulation is to serve the interest of powerful groups
(capture theory)
Objectives and incentives • Regulator: Welfare maximization (price reduction) without endangering the
long term viability of the sector. Decisions to be made on the basis of best available information;
• Regulated company: Profit maximization (price increase); Information withholding from the regulator; Distort information in order to serve the profitability objective (shareholders interest) - Overstated costs, Understated demand, Overstated asset value .
Issues…
• Information asymmetry between the company and the regulator about variable costs;
• The issue of incentives: the company can make an effort to change its variable cost.
Regulatory failure: possible causes - • Lack of personnel, other resources • Informational problems: The regulators’ knowledge is limited; Regulated
companies are „lying” • Political pressure • Capture: The regulator is corrupted by the regulated company • Commitment problem: The regulator has a limited term
Consequences • Benevolence – capture: Increased suspicion and pressure towards regulators;
Move towards full transparency
• Perfect information – asymmetric information: Popularity of incentive schemes compared to traditional rate of return regulation
• Regulatory credibility and investors’ trust: Call for increased regulatory independence
References:
Relevant reference will be proposed by the instructor.
Session 9 from 08h30 to 10h00 – Basic Tariff Design
Session 10 from 10h30 to 12h00 – Cost reflective tariffs and subsidies
Course Material
Module Outline
Purpose:
The purpose of this module is to provide practitioners with an overview of the tariff design process and the establishment of cost reflective tariffs that take the pricing policy objectives of government into account.
Summary:
The module will be presented in two sessions and covers the following aspects:
Basic electricity tariff design principles: o Tariff setting objectives. o Efficient tariff structures: One part, two part, three part tariffs. o Time of use tariffs. o Block tariffs. o Implementing tariff structures on prepayment metering. o Network tariffs.
Cost reflective tariffs o Rationale for cost reflective tariffs. o Cost of supply methodology: Customer classes; Allocating common costs to
customer classes. o Alternative approaches to cost of supply: Average cost allocation to all
classes, stand alone cost of one class, and incremental cost of serving a customer.
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USAID Southern Africa Trade Hub
o Pooling of network assets and its implications for cost of supply: Mixing economic and premium assets.
o Cost of service vs. Quality of service. o Social considerations. o Equity considerations. o Pro poor regulation.
References:
Relevant reference will be proposed by the instructor.
Suggested reference material is:
New South Wales, Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (Australia): Pricing for retail electricity networks and retail supply.
NARUC: Electric utility cost of service and rate design.
California – Tariff design;
SAPP: Study on tariff setting principles and issues surrounding tariffs and electricity pricing in Southern Africa, February 2009.
RERA Publication on Electricity Tariffs & Selected Performance Indicators for the SADC Region – 2009.
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APPENDIX F – PRESENTATIONS FILE COVER AND CONTENTS
RERA/SATH Regulatory Practitioners Training Course
with support provided by
Protea Hotel Waterfront Centurion, South Africa
16 - 21 October 2011
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RERA-SATH Regulatory Practitioners Training Course
FOLDER CONTENTS
COURSE PROGRAMME – 16 to 21 October 2011
LIST OF INSTRUCTORS AND CONTACT DETAILS
INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHIES
PRESENTATIONS
Time of session
Session Instructor
DIVIDER 1 THEORY AND PRINCIPLES OF REGULATION
Day 1 Session 1: Regulatory institutions and governance. Smunda MOKOENA
Monday Session 2: Theory and principles of regulation (Cont.) Smunda MOKOENA
17-Oct-11 Session 3: Role and Functions of the Regulator. Smunda MOKOENA
Session 4: Theory and principles of economic regulation.
Boitumelo KIEPILE
DIVIDER 2 ECONOMIC REGULATION Day 3 Session 5: Price control methodology. Brian SECHOTLHO
Wednesday Session 6: Analysing the application Brian SECHOTLHO
19-Oct-11 Session 7: Regulatory Asset Base Brian SECHOTLHO
Session 8: Regulatory accounts and price path Brian SECHOTLHO
