Expression of Interest for the Participation of Energy Service Providers in Year 3 of the Renewable Lesotho: Access to Affordable and Renewable Energy Project
01Project Overview
02Project Background
Renewable Lesotho is Lesotho's flagship programme under the European Union's Global Gateway and the Team Europe Green Deal initiative. It is overseen by the Lesotho Ministry of Energy and is financed by the European Union and its partners with an overall contribution of EUR 25 million, including EUR 860,481 from the Government of Germany. One of its components, Access to Affordable and Renewable Energy (AARE), is implemented by UNDP Lesotho under a contribution agreement with the European Union, with EUR 3.7 million from the EU, EUR 100,000 from the Government of Ireland and USD 200,000 from UNDP.
AARE has three outputs: establishing a results-based finance facility to support the energy transition and integrate it into the future National Energy Fund; improving household energy access through green mini-grids, solar home systems and improved cookstoves; and electrifying public facilities including schools, clinics and commercial and industrial sites. Since its launch in August 2024, the project had by November 2025 established the results-based finance facility and its operational manual, connected 564 households (48.2 per cent of them female-headed) and electrified eight schools serving 1,136 pupils. By the end of the intervention in 2028 the programme targets 4,400 green mini-grid connections, 3,402 solar home systems, 9,194 improved cookstoves, 24 off-grid schools and clinics electrified, 98 solar water pumps, 100 productive use energy solutions and 100 kWp of solar capacity for commercial and industrial use.
This expression of interest concerns Year 3 of the project and invites suppliers interested in providing energy services under the programme to register their interest, in order to identify suppliers that wish to participate in a forthcoming solicitation. The outcome is used to define the scope of that solicitation and to prepare the supplier list.
03Scope of Work & Technical Specifications
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Nature of the Call | A request for expression of interest used to identify and shortlist potential suppliers ahead of the forthcoming solicitation; the call itself creates no contract |
| Target Respondents | Suppliers wishing to provide energy services under the renewable energy programme in Lesotho (energy service providers) |
| Project Year | Year 3 of the Renewable Lesotho: Access to Affordable and Renewable Energy project |
| Technology Scope | As designed under the programme: green mini-grids, solar home systems, improved cookstoves, electrification of public facilities such as schools and clinics, solar water pumps, productive use energy solutions and commercial and industrial solar applications |
| How to Respond | Create a draft response without submitting it directly in the UNDP supplier portal, so that the system notifies the supplier of any amendments to the tender requirements |
| Clarifications | Requests for clarification must be submitted through the messaging function of the supplier portal system |
| Submission of Offers | Offers must be submitted online through the UNDP supplier portal, following the procedures set out in the portal user guide |
04Key Commercial Terms
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Contract Model | The programme operates a results-based finance mechanism, under which contracts ordinarily tie payment to verified results |
| Payment Terms | Contracts of this kind ordinarily pay in instalments against verified results and milestones, with further payments released after verification of the results documentation |
| Governing Contract Terms | UN agency procurement contracts generally apply the United Nations General Conditions of Contract, together with contract-specific special conditions |
| Currency | UN agency procurement and contracts are ordinarily denominated and settled in United States dollars |
| Taxes | Contracts concluded by UN agencies ordinarily provide that the United Nations is exempt from taxation, and contractors are expected to structure pricing and performance accordingly |
| Subsequent Process | After the expression of interest, eligible suppliers are ordinarily invited to the subsequent solicitation, in which the final contract scope and conditions are determined |
05Bidder Qualification Requirements
06Key Milestones
07Evaluation Criteria
- Legal status, business authorisations and registration standing
- track record on comparable off-grid or distributed renewable energy projects
- financial capacity and performance security arrangements
- organisational arrangements for delivery and maintenance within Lesotho
- Capability in green mini-grids, solar home systems and solar water pumps
- equipment supply channels and quality assurance
- installation, commissioning and long-term maintenance proposals
- experience with productive use energy solutions
