IT System Enhancements for the Energy Regulatory Commission

Request for expression of interest for selection # 1218415

 

The World Bank, with European Union financing, is supporting a major IT systems upgrade at the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). ERC is responsible for economic regulation of the Philippines power sector. It sets the tariffs of 140 distribution utilities (DUs) (120 Electric Cooperatives and 20 Private Distribution Utilities) and the National Grid Corporation as transmission concessionaire, approves all these entities capital expenditure (capex) plans, and monitors their compliance with the Philippine Grid and Distribution Codes which set power quality, reliability, system loss and customer service standards. In generation, all Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) for captive customers between Generators and the DUs are subject to ERC approval since these are pass-through charges to the retail consumers. Finally, ERC monitors market competition in the Wholesale Electricity Supply Market (WESM) and in the retail supply of contestable customers.

Faced with this heavy regulatory burden, ERC has requested donor assistance with re-engineering its operations to improve regulatory efficiency and effectiveness and better manage regulatory risk. Under WB and JICA funding, risk-based process redesigns for capex plan and PSA approvals have been designed and tariff setting for the ECs has been improved. These and other process designs must now be embedded in a flexible case-management IT system supported by data warehouse/BI and document management tools. This will make ERC approvals faster, more consistent, and fully transparent and accountable thereby minimizing regulatory risk. Regulated entities will have full visibility into the status of their application against standard processing times. WESM market monitoring will also benefit in both timeliness and sophistication from the data warehouse/BI tools.

A conceptual design for these new IT systems has been completed and will be made available to shortlisted bidders. This must now be developed into a detailed systems design in terms of a logical data model, and optimized applications and technology architectures ideally using a cloud-based delivery approach. The high level design currently envisages two integrated components:

The first is a data warehouse/BI deployment to bring some quick wins. There is additionally some opportunity to align the data model with NEA, another entity in this space, who are about to start the implementation of their BI strategy; this could potentially lead to sector level harmonization and data sharing such that data could be entered once and then shared with other sector oversight agencies, minimizing the data burden on regulated entities and potentially leading to a single version of the truth.

The second component is an extranet that will support online access and submission of regulatory filings by the utilities; these filings would be processed using a case management approach via the internal portal. Key documents would be captured into a document management system for record keeping. Submissions may require some ePayment capabilities. Given the nature of these filings, the system must be able to ensure security and some level of non-repudiation. ePayment services to collect fees and fines may also be needed.

The World Bank now wishes to procure the services of a solution vendor who can provide the following services:
1. Program Oversight, Project Management
2. Development of detailed requirements and design and signoff by ERC
3. Platform/infrastructure Setup (ideally cloud based) and user authentication and authorization
4. Solution Implementation including the portals, BI (including design of ETL), and case management tools
5. Solution O&M including minor enhancements and end user support for up to two years
6. Transition and knowledge transfer during the handover to ERC
The solution implementer will make available the necessary end to end BI solution components, portals, case-management tools, cloud based infrastructure and services, configure and document the solution, fully train end-users and deliver the solution according to an agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA) for an initial period of two years financed under this project. Beyond that two-year period, it is expected that ERC will self-finance continued provision of the system within its annual operating budget.

Qualifications:
Bidders must demonstrate (either individually or in consortium) that they have solid experience in successfully delivering similar solutions to regulatory institutions, ideally in the Asia-Pacific region. They should also demonstrate a solid understanding of the Philippines power sector and its regulation. Bidders must be in good financial standing to ensure that delivery & support is assured during the engagement. They should provide evidence that they have developed, delivered and supported ongoing development of cloud based solutions for data warehouse/BI systems. Bidders must also demonstrate their knowledge and experience in implementing state-of-the art case management platforms/functionality for non-linear process support.

Please pay very close attention to these instructions for submitting EOIs:
Expressions of interest are strictly limited to 12 pages including ALL attachments. They should include brief statements that expand on the qualifications outlined above, provide specific customer experience in the Philippines and/or Asia-Pacific region, and in the regulatory sector, and demonstrate an understanding of the regulation of the Philippines electricity sector.

On an indicative basis, short bios should be provided, not full CVs, for three or four core personnel that might be offered, should you be invited to bid for the work. The bios should include at least one power sector expert who understands ERCs role and who can help ensure the implementation is well-aligned with the agencys mission.

Submissions can be prepared in report format (e.g. in Word) or in presentation format (e.g. Powerpoint), and should be converted to pdf. Submissions longer than 12 pages (inclusive of ALL attachments, cover page and cover letter etc.) will automatically be disqualified.
Qualification Criteria

1. Provide information showing that they are qualified in the field of the assignment. DO NOT FILL THIS IS IN. Include this information only in the pdf of the Expression of Interest, which is strictly limited to 12 pages including ALL attachments.
2. Provide information on the technical and managerial capabilities of the firm. DO NOT FILL THIS IS IN. Include this information only in the pdf of the Expression of Interest, which is strictly limited to 12 pages including ALL attachments.
3. Provide information on their core business and years in business. DO NOT FILL THIS IS IN. Include this information only in the pdf of the Expression of Interest, which is strictly limited to 12 pages including ALL attachments.
4. Provide information on the qualifications of key staff. DO NOT FILL THIS IS IN. Include this information only in the pdf of the Expression of Interest, which is strictly limited to 12 pages including ALL attachments.

* - Mandatory