UNDP-将分布式可再生能源的金融聚合纳入主流（英）

UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme

WhitePaper

MainstreamingFinancial

AggregationforDistributedRenewableEnergy

January2024

◆

Copyright©2024.Allrightsreserved.

OneUnitedNationsPlaza,NewYork,NY10017,USA

Disclaimer:Theviewsexpressedinthispublicationarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyrepresentthoseoftheUnitedNations,includingUNDP,orthe

UNMemberStates.

Coverphoto:UNDP/KarinSchermbrucker

Suggestedcitation:UNDP(2024).WhitePaper:

MainstreamingFinancialAggregationforDistributedRenewableEnergy,NewYork.

Acknowledgements

ThedevelopmentofthispaperwasfundedbytheGEF,ledbytheUNDPandpreparedbyexpertsfromTFE.

TheUNDPtaskteamresponsiblefortheproductionofthisreportwascomposedofEduardoAppleyardandMateoSalomon.

TheTFEteamthatwrotethispaperincludesAndréTroost,Dr.SamDubyandKumbiraiMakanza.

Thispaperbenefitedgreatlyfromtheinsightsfrom:AlexWanumeandChrisKanani(WinchEnergy),EricdeMoudt(AfricanFrontierCapital),ChristopherAidunandToukamNgoufanke(PersistentEnergy)andAnshulPatel(Bboxx).

WhitePaper:MainstreamingFinancialAggregationforDistributedRenewableEnergy

UNDP

UNDPistheleadingUnitedNationsorganizationfightingtoendtheinjusticeofpoverty,inequality,andclimatechange.Workingwithourbroad

networkofexpertsandpartnersin170countries,wehelpnationsbuildintegrated,lastingsolutions

forpeopleandtheplanet.

Learnmoreat

orfollow

@UNDP

TheClimateAggregationPlatform(CAP)

TheClimateAggregationPlatformisaGlobal

EnvironmentFacility(GEF)fundedflagshipinitiativeofUNDP,whichseekstosupportthestructuring

anddeploymentofinnovativebusinessmodelsandfinancialmechanismstoaccelerateenergyaccessandajustenergytransition.

TheCAPseekstoadvanceandraiseawarenessforinnovativesolutionstomarketbarriersforfinancialaggregationinthesmall-scale,low-carbonenergysector–withthegoaltoincreaseaccesstolow-costfinancingforcleanenergyinemergingmarkets.

Learnmoreat:

/climate

-

aggregation-platform

GEF

TheGlobalEnvironmentFacility(GEF)isafamilyoffundsdedicatedtoconfrontingbiodiversityloss,

climatechange,pollution,andstrainsonlandandoceanhealth.Itsgrants,blendedfinancing,andpolicysupporthelpdevelopingcountriesaddresstheirbiggestenvironmentalprioritiesandadheretointernationalenvironmentalconventions.Overthepastthreedecades,theGEFhasprovided

morethan$23billionandmobilized$129billioninco-financingformorethan5,000nationalandregionalprojects.

Page2|ClimateAggregationPlatform|WhitePaper|MainstreamingFinancialAggregationforDRE

Introduction

4

Contents

12DT2ee1frminiISnntghreoDedRtusEcftfoioinrnaDtnoRcEtieafrlimnagasnghcereieagtlsaatgiognregation656

2.1.1Considerationsaffectingtermsheetdesign6

2.2Keycomponentsofdrefinancialaggregationtermsheets8

2.2.1Operationsandserviceagreement8

2.2.2Datasharingagreement9

2.2.3Purchaseandsaleagreement9

2.2.4Loanagreement10

3.CasestudiesofpastandpresentDREfinancialaggregation

facilitiesandtransactions11

3.1Bboxxdistributedenergyassetreceivables$500,000pilotin

Kenya(2015)11

3.1.1Transactionstructure12

3.1.2Lookingtothefuture12

3.2WinchEnergy:$16millionmini-gridportfoliofinance(2021)13

3.2.1Transactionstructure13

3.2.2Lookingtothefuture13

3.3BrighterlifeKenya2:landmarkoff-balancesheetfacility(2022)14

3.3.1Transactionstructure14

3.3.2Lookingtothefuture15

4.DFIsandconcessionalfundsinvolvementinDREfinancial

aggregation17

Conclusion1

9

Page3|ClimateAggregationPlatform|WhitePaper|MainstreamingFinancialAggregationforDRE

Photo:UNDP/LouisFourmentin

Introduction

Lastyearmarkedthehalfwaypointtowardsthe2030deadline

forachievingtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs).WhileconsiderableprogresshasbeenmadetowardstheSDG7

targetsoncleanandaffordableenergy,inparticularinrelation

toenergyaccess(7.1),675millionpeopleremainwithoutaccesstoelectricityandafurther2.3billionhavenoaccesstoclean

cookingsolutions.1Basedonthecurrentpaceofprogress,effortsmustbesignificantlyrampeduptoachievetheSDGtargetsby

2030.What’smore,althoughcleanenergyisacrucialelement

ofmostNDCs,moreambitioustargetsareneededtokeepus

belowthe1.5°Cthreshold.2WeneedtogreatlyenhancethelevelofpublicandprivateinvestmentinsolutionssuchasDistributedRenewableEnergy,toadvancesustainabledevelopmentand

deliverthegoalsoftheParisAgreement.Toachievethis,new

approachesareneededtode-riskinvestmentsandcrowdinnewsourcesofcapital.

Financialaggregation,definedinthecontextofthispaperastheaggregationofDistributedRenewableEnergy(DRE)receivables,holdsgreatpromiseinreducingthemismatchbetweenDRE

fundingneedsandinvestorrequirementsandinturnincreasingcapitaldeploymentinthesector.Whendesignedcorrectlyanddeployedinsuitablemarkets,theseinstrumentscanofferfasterandmoreaffordableaccesstocapital.

However,financialaggregationinstruments,inparticularoff-

balancesheetonesarecomplex,expensivetosetup(asmuchasUS$2millioninsomeinstances3)andinvolvemanylengthyprocesses–Itcantakeuptotwoyearstocloseatransaction.Theirsuccessfulimplementationdependsonafavourable

enablingenvironmentandtheexistenceofasufficientlylargepipelineofDREassetsoftherightcharacteristicsandquality.Atthemoment,onlyahandfulofmarketplayerscanmeetsuchconditionsorareabletoabsorb,ontheirown,theticketsizesrequiredbyinvestorstojustifysuchanundertaking.Therefore,untilveryrecently,therewerefewexamplesoftransactions

trulyshowcasingthepotentialoffinancialaggregationintheDREsector.

Furthermore,arecurrentmessagethroughouttheextensiveconsultationsthattookplaceinthecontextoftheClimate

AggregationPlatformandthedevelopmentofits

‘Financial

AggregationforDistributedRenewableEnergy’reportsseries

istheneedtoelucidatefinancialaggregationtransactions

throughreal-lifeexamples.Morespecifically,whilethere

hasbeenpioneeringworkdonebyleadingDREcompanies,

arrangers,andinvestorstoclosesuchtransactions,thisworkistypicallydoneinsiloes.Asaresult,thereislimitedknowledgedisseminationonhowtostructureandclosesuchtransactions.

Thiswhitepaperservesasaninitialattempttoshedlightonthemainingredientsinvolvedinclosingcost-effectiveandscalableDREfinancialaggregationtransactionsandshareinsights

andlessonsfromreal-lifeexamples.Thepaperseekstoequipinvestors,DREcompaniesandtransactionarrangersinterestedinfinancialaggregationwithknowledgethatcanhelpthem

1TrackingSDG7:TheEnergyProgressReport.2023(

Link

)

2InternationalRenewableEnergyAgency(IRENA).2023.(

Link

)

3Basedoninterviewsundertakeninthecontextofthispaper.

betterunderstandandnavigatethisprocess.Theintentionis

thatthiscanpavethewayforfurthermainstreamingoffinancialaggregationintheDREsectorandpointtoopportunitiesto

streamlineandreducethecostandtimerequiredforsuch

transactions(e.g.,throughthesharingofbestpracticesandthedevelopmentofstandardizedagreements).

ThepaperwasdevelopedinthecontextoftheClimate

AggregationPlatform(CAP),aGlobalEnvironmentFacility

(GEF)-fundedprojectimplementedbyUNDP,whichseeksto

promotethescale-upoffinancialaggregationforsmall-scale,low-carbonenergyassetsinemergingmarkets.Itbrings

togetherinsightsfromdetailedinterviewswithDREcompaniesandarrangersthatwereinvolvedinpasttransactions.

ThepaperopenswithabriefexplanationofDREfinancial

aggregationanditsdifferentmanifestations.Chapter2followswithadetaileddescriptionofDREfinancialaggregationterm

sheetsandaconcretecaseoutliningkeyconsiderations

affectingtheirdesign.Chapter3discussesthekeylessons

emanatingfromthreepioneeringDREfinancialaggregation

transactions,twoofwhichweredoneintheKenyanmarketandoneinUgandaandSierraLeone.Lastly,Chapter4touchesontheroleofconcessionalfundsinenablingfinancialaggregationintheDREsector.

Page4|ClimateAggregationPlatform|WhitePaper|MainstreamingFinancialAggregationforDRE

$

SpecialPurposeVehicle

Investors

Untilrecently,instancesofDREtransactionsinvolvingsuch

complexmechanismswererare.Infact,onlyahandfulofpureoff-balancesheettransactionshavebeenclosedintheDREsectorinsub-SaharanAfricatodateandthesehavemainly

beenintheOff-gridSolar(OGS)sector(See

Chapter3

).

Establishedplayersinthissectorarerelativelymatureandarelookingtoleveragethevalueoftheircustomerreceivables

toaccessdebttofundfurthergrowth.Incontrast,other

DREsectorsarestillatarelativelyearlygrowthstage.Moretraditionalfinancinginstrumentsarestillmostappropriateinthesesectorsatthisstage.

4UNDP-ClimateBondsInitiative(2022).LinkingGlobalFinancetoSmall-ScaleCleanEnergy;FinancialAggregationforDistributedRenewableEnergyinDevelopingCountries,NewYork.(

Link

)

1.DefiningDREfinancialaggregation

Small-scaleenergyassetscanbeaggregatedintoportfolios

toachievescaleandattractlargerinvestmentticketsizes4inaprocessdefinedasfinancialaggregation.Itcantaketheformofsecuritizationoffuturecashflows(accountsreceivables)

andtheaggregationoftheseintopoolingstructures,typicallySpecialPurposeVehicles(SPVs).Itcanalsotaketheform

ofaggregationofprojectsintoportfoliosforprojectfinance

purposes.Securitizationofreceivablesismorecommonly

performedinproduct-basedsectors,forexampleSolarHomeSystems(SHSs),whileprojectaggregationismorecommonlydeployedinproject-basedsectors,mainlymini-gridsand

captivepower.Financialaggregationinitspurestforminvolvescompletetransferalofthesecuritizedassetsintoanoff-balancesheetstructure,suchasanSPV,asFigure2indicates.This

meansthattheDREcompany,theoriginatoroftheassets,effectivelysellstheassetstotheSPV.

Intheory,thisprocessreducestheriskofthesecuritized

assetsforaninvestorandultimatelythecostofcapitalfortheoriginatorbyeffectivelyseparatingtherisksofsecuritized

assetsfromthatoftheoriginator.Separationofriskalsomeansthatifthecompanywhoinitiallysoldordevelopedtheasset

(theoriginator)failsandisliquidated,itwillhavenorecourseovertheassetsheldbytheSPV.

Successfulattemptshavebeenmadeinothermarkets,notablyKenya,toemployelementsofpureoff-balancesheetstructuresinwhatwetermquasioff-balancesheettransactions.In

theseinstances,originatorsselltheirsecuritizedassetstoa

limitedliabilitypartnership,whichtheyco-ownwithanentity

responsibleforarrangingthefacility.Theoriginator,asaresult,stillhasrecoursetotheassets.

Finally,amorecommonapproachduetotherelativelysmall

sizeofthemarket,hasbeentosecuritizeDREreceivables,

withoutaggregatingandtransferringthemtooff-balancesheetorquasioff-balancesheetstructures5.Theassetsremainfully

onthebalancesheetofthecompany.Whilenotaggregation

perse,thequantificationoffuturecashflowsimprovesthe

company’sinvestorpitchandcanbeusedaspartofthecollateralrequirementsforaloanorastheonlycollateralincaseswhere

moreprogressiveinvestorsareinvolved.Dealscanbesmallerastransactioncostsaresignificantlylowerthanoff-balancesheettransactions.Thispaper,however,focusesontransactionsthatinvolvesomedegreeofoff-balancesheetsecuritization.

5InthecontextoftheCAPFinancialInnovationChallenge,HypoportAfricahasworkedona

syntheticsecuritizationstructureforsolarhomesystemswherethelegalownershipofassetsismaintainedontheoriginator’sside,andnoseparatelegalentityisrequired.

OriginatorsellsDREassets:

•Projects(Mini-gridsorcaptivepower)

•Customerreceivables(OGS,mini-grids,

captivepowerorEVs)

Asset-backed

securities

OriginatoroftheDREAssets

$

Figure1:Basicdepictionofanoff-balancesheetsecuritizationtransaction

Source:Author’sowndiagram.

TolearnmoreaboutfinancialaggregationpleaseseeUNDP’sandtheClimateBondsInitiativereporton

“

LinkingGlobalFinancetoSmall-ScaleCleanEnergy

”.

Page5|ClimateAggregationPlatform|WhitePaper|MainstreamingFinancialAggregationforDRE

Assets

•Minigrids

•C&ISolar

•Electricvehicles•OGS

Legaland

regulatory

•Licensing

•Set-upand

runningexpenses•LocalSPVsviable/ required?

•Issuitablelocalcapitalavailable?•Taxsystem

Receivables

•Fixed(e.g.PPA)•Variable(e.g

PAYGO)

•Reportingandverification

systems

•Connectionorprojectlevelaggregation

Structure

•On/Offbalancesheet

•Debtorequitybased

•Tenureduration

•Discrete

Investmentsorrollingcapitalstructure

•Scalabilityandreplicability

Aggregationmechanisms

2.TermSheetsforDREfinancialaggregation

2.1Introduction

totermsheets

Althoughtheyaretypicallynon-binding,termsheetsserve

asthetemplateandbasisforthemoredetailedandlegally

bindingdocumentsthatspecifythetermsandconditionsof

aninvestmentorbusinesstransaction.Assuch,termsheets

needtocarefullydetailthemostimportantstructuralelements

ofaninvestment.Aggregationbasedtransactionshave

additionalcomplexityincomparisontothemorecommonand

straightforwardtransactions,andassociatedtermsheetsneedtoreflectthis.Theshapeanddesignofanaggregationmechanismwilldependonamyriadoffactorsincludingthetypesofassetstobeaggregatedandthelocationoftheseassets.Figure2

belowshowssomeofthekeyconsiderationsofanaggregationmechanismandtheelementsthataretypicallycoveredinthe

supportingtermsheets.Section2.1.1belowpresentsanexampleofhowthesedifferentconsiderationscanmanifestinpractice.

2.1.1Considerationsaffecting

termsheetdesign

Asanillustration,thissectiondissectsthekeycharacteristicsofanaggregationfacilitycurrentlybeingdevelopedbyTFEalongthecategoriesoutlinedinFigure2.

ThenewfacilityseekstoenableDREdeveloperstoconvert

theirmostsignificantasset(theirrightstofutureenergy

payments/revenues)intocashimmediately(insteadofslowlyoverthelifetimeofaproject)bysecuritizingtheserevenues.

Thefundusesdatastreamsfromcustomerrelationship

managementsystems,demographicdatabases,andGISlayerstocategorizeandclustercustomersbasedonfactorsincludingbutnotlimitedtoabsoluteexpectedrevenue,potentialupsideordownsiderisk,paymentrisk,businesstypeorgender.Thefundthenusesitsproprietaryalgorithmstoaccuratelyforecasttheexpectedrevenueofeachclusteroveragiventimeperiod.Followingtheforecasting,thefundseekstoringfencecash

flows,factortheexpectedreceivablesandofferlowinterest

loanstoDREbusinessesbasedonthestrengthoftheexpectedrevenueofstable,highvalueclustersofinterest.

ThekeycharacteristicsofthefundwhichwillhaveimplicationsfortermsheetdesignaredefinedbyTFEasfollows:

Assets

·Mini-gridandCommercialandIndustrial(C&I)receivables.

Theserefertoanyfuturecashflows.Inthecaseofmini-gridsfuturecashflowsaretypicallystructuredasflatfeespaidbycustomersatregularintervalsorvariableconsumption-basedpaymentsataspecifiedtariffstipulatedinthecustomer

contract.C&Icashflowsaretypicallystructuredsimilarly–

customerscanalsopayflatfeesatregularintervals,while

consumption-basedpaymentsareprovidedforinpower

purchaseagreements(PPAs).PPAscaneitherbestructuredona“takeorpay”basiswhereallenergygeneratedbythesystemmustbepaidforbythecustomeror,alternatively,onthebasisthatthecustomeronlypaysforwhattheyconsume.

DREsectorspecific

Thefundrefinancesexistingprojectsfromlicenseddevelopers;

·Thefundcanbecomefinanciallyprofitableataminimumsizeof$10million;

·Earlyinvestorsareimpactfocusedwithafocusontarget

sub-SaharanAfrican(SSA)countriesincludingNigeriawherethefacilityislaunchingfirst;

·ThefacilityhasreceivedextensiveadvicefromlocalcounselinNigeriatomakesurethatthemechanismiscompliantwithalllocalregulationsandistaxefficient;

·Thefacilityworkswithdeveloperswhoowntheassets.By

refinancingthereceivablesstreamsonly,noassetownershiptransferisrequired;

·Refinancingexistingassetsmeansthatthefacilityisless

exposedtotheavailabilityoflocalfinance.

DRESector

specific

•Businesslicensing•Transactionsize

•Investor

preferences

•Sectorregulations•Assetownershipstructure

•Workingcapital

availability

Geography

•Localstructure

•Hybrid

•Purely

international

•Riskmanagement

andmitigation

•Impactassessment

andreporting

•Dataandreporting

systems

•Longterm

sustainability

Figure2:Mainconsiderationswithpossiblepermutationstobecoveredintermsheets

Source:Author’sowndiagram.

Page6|ClimateAggregationPlatform|WhitePaper|MainstreamingFinancialAggregationforDRE

Receivables

·Every‘asset’underconsiderationforthefundmusthavea

reliabledatafeed.Thesecanbethevariablepaymentsfromindividualsmartmetersonamini-gridorfixed,performance-basedpaymentsfromaC&IPPA;

·Thefacilityusesdatastreamsfromindividualcustomersmartmeters,demographicdatabases,andGISlayerstocategorizeandclustercustomersbasedonfactorsincludingbutnot

limitedtoabsoluteexpectedrevenue,potentialupsideordownsiderisk,paymentrisk,businesstypeorgender;

·Thedataprovidestransparencyaswellasallreportingandthird-partyverificationfunctionality;

·Usingthisdata,thefacilityseekstotoaggregateand

refinanceindividualmini-gridcustomerconnectionsaswellasentireC&Iprojects.

Legalandregulatory

ForthespecificcontextofNigeria:

·LendingasaforeignentityinNigeriaispossible;

·TaxesonNigerianinvestments(loanproducts)aremoderate(e.g.,10percentwithholdingtaxinNigeria);

·ForeignentitieslendingtolocalcorporateentitiesdonotneedanSPVorotherspecificlicensestoconductsuchactivities;

·ForeigncurrencyinvestmentsintoNigeriaareexposed

tohighcurrencyrisksduetocurrencydepreciationand

conversion.Availabilityofforeigncurrencyisalsolimitedinthecountry;

·Nigeriaappliesforeignexchangecontrolsonthetransfersofforeigncurrencyandlocalcurrencyintoandoutofthecountry;

·Alocalbankaccountcanonlybeopenedwithalocal/residentSPV,butthefundcanalsouselocalintermediariesandescrowagentsforthepurposeofcollectingpaymentsinNaira;

·AforeigninvestorseekingtoinvestcapitalinNigeriaby

wayofdebtorequitycanbringintheinvestmentcapital

throughanauthorizeddealer(typically,alicensedNigeriancommercialbank);

·Acertificateofcapitalimportation(CCI)mustbeobtainedin

relationtothecapitalimportation.ThecertificateisalsousedtofacilitatethepurchaseofforeigncurrencyintheOfficialMarketwhenaninvestorseekstoexportorrepatriatetheirinvestment;

·CCIdoesnotguaranteethatthecertificateholderwillalwayshaveaccesstoforeigncurrency;

·TheCentralBankofNigeria(CBN)tendstoimpose,fromtimetotime,capitalcontrolstomanagethereserveofhardcurrencies;

·AlltypicalformsofsecurityorcreditenhancementarepossibleinNigeria(fixedcharges,floatingcharges,

guaranteesetc.);

·ThecostofregisteringsecurityattheCorporateAffairs

Commission(CAC)is0.35percentoftheamountsecuredbythecharge;

·Stampdutieswillalsoapplytotheloandocumentation.Therateofstampdutyis0.125percentforsecuredtransactionsand0.375percentforunsecuredloans;

·Keyenergyandrelatedregulationstobecompliedwithinclude:

(a)ElectricPowerSectorReformAct2005–ThisistheprincipallegislationforthepowersectorinNigeria;

(b)NERCRegulationsforMiniGrids2016–Thisregulationregulatesthedevelopmentandoperationsofmini-gridsinNigeria;

(c)NERCLicensingandOperatingFeesRegulations2010–Thisregulationprescribesthelicensingfeesandoperatingfeesthatshouldbepaidbylicenseesinthepowersector;

(d)EnvironmentalImpactAssessmentAct:Thislawstates

therequirementforanenvironmentalimpactassessmentforpowerprojects.

Geography

·Purelyinternational,whichmeansthatallstructurespertainingtothedealareoffshore.CapitalislentwithoutalocalentityorlocalSPV.

Structure

·DomiciledintheNetherlands;

·ADutchlimitedcompany(“NLBV”)wasselectedbecauseof:。Setupcostandtimeefficiency;

。Easeofoperation;

。Regulation;

。Limitedtaxleakage(taxefficienteconomy,yetstillfairtax);

。Reputationandfamiliarityamonginvestors.

·Mechanics:

。TheNLBVissuesdebtnotestoselectedinvestors;

。Notesincludeonetypeofclassorvariousclasses(e.g.

seniororjunior).Thisiscommonplaceinblendedfinance;

。NLBVinvestsintothefund(debtand/orequity);

。ThefundlendstoDREcompanies–EachborrowerhasauniqueloanagreementunderNigerianlaw.

·Assetsareaggregatedinfunding‘windows’withalimitedtenure.

Investmentsinthefundatlargecanbediscrete(attachedtoaspecificwindow)orrolling(recycledintosubsequentwindows).

Page7|ClimateAggregationPlatform|WhitePaper|MainstreamingFinancialAggregationforDRE

DRE

Financial

Aggregation

TermSheet

2.2KeycomponentsofDRE

financialaggregation

termsheets

DREfinancialaggregationtermsheetstypicallyhavefourcomponents:

serviceformatureDREsectorsonwhichtheservicelevel

agreementcanbemodelled,forexampletheMini-gridQualityAssuranceFramework(QAF).6

OperationsandserviceagreementsforDREfinancial

aggregationwilltypicallyrequireclausespertainingtothe

elementspresentedinTable1below.

Operations

andServiceAgreement

(QualityandperformanceexpectationsimposedupontheO&Mserviceprovider)

DataSharingAgreement

(DSA)

(Conditionsandprocessesfordatasharingbetweentheinvolvedentities)

PurchaseandSaleAgreement(PSA)

(Onlyforoff-balancesheettransactions:

Conditionsandprocessesofsaleof

DREassetsfromtheoriginatortothe

purchaser,typicallythefinancier)

LoanAgreement

(Allthecreditterms,includinginterestrates,repaymentscedules,andmore)

Figure3:OverviewofDREfinancial

aggregationtermsheetcomponents

Source:Author’sowndiagram.

2.2.1Operationsandserviceagreement

OperationsandServiceAgreementsareusuallyrequired

whenthepartythatacquiresorownstheDREassets(typicallytheSPVsetupbythetransactionarranger)doesnotwholly

(i)operateandmaintaintheassethardwareandsoftware

serviceor(ii)servicetheend-users.Inthisscenario,thepartywillcontractwhollyorpartiallytheoperations,maintenance

andservicingcomponentstotheoriginalassetownerand|oranyothercapablethirdparty.Thisentity,“theoperator”,is

responsibleforthedailyoperationandmaintenanceofthe

hardware,softwareandhumanresourcesrequiredtoprovidetheDREproductorservicetotheenduser.Thisarrangementiscommonwhentheoperationalcomponentisnotacore

capabilityoftheassetownerandcanbedonemoreeffectivelybyanotherentity.

Theoperationsandserviceagreementoutlinesthespecific

rolesandresponsibilitiesofthepartiesinvolved,thedurationoftheagreement,theremunerationstructureandlevelofservicerequired.Thelevelofservicerequiredvariesfromsectorto

sector.Therearewidelyrecognizedindustrystandardsof

KEYELEMENTTOINCLUDE

DESCRIPTION

Detailedscope

ofOperations

andMaintenance

(O&M)services

AlltaskstobeexecutedbytheO&M

provider(e.g.,ensuringhighquality

serviceuptime,uninterruptedoperation

ofcustomercomplaintssystems,etc.).

Outliningthe

performance

standardsto

beachieved

Qualitystandardspertainingtotechnical

performance(e.g.,voltagevariationsandsystemaverageinterruptionfrequencyindex(SAIFI)).

Detailingall

guaranteesand

warranties

Includesallguaranteespertainingtoservicelevelsaswellasproductwarrantieswhererelevant(off-gridsolarproductsinthe

caseofproduct-basedsectorsorancillaryproductssuchassmartmetersinservice-basedsectorssuchasmini-grids).

Detailingthe

insurancepolicy

(ifrequired)

Theseincludeinsurancepoliciesthatprotecteitherthefinancierortheproviderfrom

eventssuchasemployeeinjury,etc.

Detailingthe

limitationsand

liabilities

Referstothelimitati