Germany – Energy and related services – 10025180 - Provision of technical advisory services for energy efficiency, renewable energy self-consumption, and institutional capacity development in Kosovo

Opportunity description

The Kosovo Energy Project (KEP) is a development cooperation initiative implemented by GIZ, co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, supporting Kosovo"s transition toward a more sustainable, efficient, and inclusive energy system. KEP aims to help Kosovo fulfil its obligations under the EU Energy Community Treaty by improving energy efficiency and expanding the use of renewable energy, particularly renewable energy for self-consumption in buildings. The project addresses Kosovo"s dependence on lignite-based electricity generation, outdated infrastructure, high energy losses, and low energy efficiency, while supporting alignment with EU energy and climate legislation and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans. It focuses on strengthening the regulatory, institutional, financial, and technical framework for EE and SC-RE investments. It supports national institutions, especially the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, and the Kosovo Energy Efficiency Fund (KEEF), through legal and policy advice, development of secondary legislation and technical standards, and practical tools. A key pillar is improving financing mechanisms by supporting KEEF to design, pilot, and scale funding models that mobilize public and private investment, including in private homes, multi-apartment buildings, public buildings, and businesses. At the municipal level, KEP supports the development of Municipal Energy and Climate Action Plans and strengthens local capacities to plan and implement energy measures in line with national targets. KEP addresses these challenges through five interconnected outputs: Output 1 - Enabling regulation: Supporting responsible institutions to draft, amend and operationalise key legal and regulatory instruments, including secondary legislation and technical standards. The objective is to reduce regulatory uncertainty, streamline procedures and create investor confidence for EE and renewable self-consumption investments. Output 2 - Investment-ready financing: Strengthening and expanding the financial mechanisms of the Kosovo Energy Efficiency Fund (KEEF) to reach households, SMEs and municipalities. Particular focus is placed on multi-apartment buildings and affordability barriers affecting energy-poor households. This includes optimisation of grant, loan and blended finance instruments as well as strengthened monitoring and verification systems. Output 3 - Capable institutions and services: Improving national information and advisory services to ensure that EE and RE-SC solutions are accessible, technically credible and responsive to investor needs. Dedicated formats are promoted to support women as investors and professionals in the energy sector. Output 4 - Local implementation capacity: Supporting municipalities in moving from stand-alone energy efficiency planning towards integrated Municipal Energy and Climate Action Plans (MECAPs), combining EE and RE-SC measures aligned with national objectives. The project also strengthens institutionalised inter-municipal learning and exchange. Output 5 - Inclusive transition and women"s participation: Establishing and anchoring a Women in Energy Network supported through structured capacity building, employability pathways and partnerships to increase women"s representation and career progression in the energy sector as a contribution to a just transition. Through this contract, GIZ intends to commission a service provider to continue the implementation of Outputs 1, 2, 4 and 5. The assignment will contribute to strengthening Kosovo"s regulatory framework, improving access to finance, enhancing local implementation capacities and promoting gender-inclusive participation in the energy transition. This assignment contributes to the overall objective of the Kosovo Energy Project (KEP) to improve the framework conditions for increasing energy efficiency (EE) and expanding renewable energy for self-consumption (RE-SC) in Kosovo. The contractor shall provide technical advisory services, institutional capacity development and implementation support to partner institutions in close coordination with GIZ and relevant national stakeholders. The contractor shall build on previous project achievements, avoid duplication and ensure complementarity with ongoing national reforms and donor-supported initiatives. The contractor is responsible for contributing to the achievement of the expected results under Outputs 1, 2, 4 and 5 of KEP. Activities under all work packages shall be implemented in an integrated manner to maximise synergies between regulatory reform, financing mechanisms, institutional capacity development and gender-responsive energy transition. Work Package (WP) 1: Legal and Regulatory Framework Objective: Improve the legal, regulatory, and technical framework to enable investments in energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy sources (RES) for self-consumption. Description: The contractor shall provide technical advisory services to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework for energy efficiency and renewable energy for self-consumption in Kosovo. The assignment includes drafting and reviewing legislation, developing technical standards and supporting partner institutions in implementing the new regulatory framework. The expected result is an improved enabling environment that facilitates public and private investment while ensuring alignment with the EU Energy Acquis and Energy Community obligations. Key Outputs / Activities: - Provide technical advisory services to ME, MESPI and KEEF for the drafting, revision and implementation of legislation and regulatory frameworks on energy efficiency (EE) and the energy performance of buildings (EPB). - Support ME, ERO, DSO and TSO in drafting and amending secondary legislation implementing the Law on Renewable Energy and transposing Directive (EU) 2019/944, with a focus on renewable energy for self-consumption (RE-SC). - Strengthen ERO's capacities to develop tariff and revenue methodologies reflecting the revised renewable energy support framework. - Develop national technical standards for EE and RE-SC in line with the EPB Law, the EU Energy Acquis and international best practices. - Develop technical standards for the grid integration of renewable energy and support the simplification of permitting and authorisation procedures. Work package (WP) 2: Financial Mechanisms Objective: Improve access to tailored financing mechanisms for EE and RES investments for self-consumption. Description: The contractor shall support KEEF in improving, expanding and operationalising financing mechanisms for EE and RE-SC investments. Particular emphasis shall be placed on developing financially sustainable instruments that increase investment uptake among households, municipalities and SMEs, while addressing affordability barriers for vulnerable groups. Key Outputs / Activities: - Advisory support to KEEF to fine-tune financing schemes for different target groups (households, SMEs, municipalities). - Design and structuring of support mechanisms and blended financial instruments, with a focus on multi-apartment buildings. - Identification of financing gaps and barriers, including affordability constraints, and formulation of targeted recommendations. - Preparation of recommendations to revise existing KEEF schemes based on lessons learned from pilot programs. - Support to operationalize monitoring and verification systems for EE and RES pilot projects. Work package (WP) 3: Human Capacity Development Objective: Strengthen institutional and human capacities to plan, implement, and monitor EE and RES measures at national and local levels. Description: Work Package 3 provides cross-cutting institutional and human capacity development measures supporting the implementation of Outputs 1, 2, 4 and 5. Key Outputs / Activities: - Capacity development for ME on inspection processes ensuring compliance with EE and RES regulations and standards. - Organizational development support to KEEF, including new structures, roles, and procedures linked to expanded financing mechanisms. - Training of KEEF staff on the operationalization of EE and RES financial instruments and schemes. - Capacity building for KEEF staff and municipalities to improve planning, implementation, and investment mobilization for EE and RES. - Support to municipalities in developing training programs on local energy and climate policies and measures. - Support to AKM to institutionalize a structured knowledge-sharing and training platform on EE and RES. - Design and delivery of replicable capacity-building programs (including ToT) for women in the energy sector, aligned with labor market needs. Work package (WP) 4: Women in Energy Network Objective: Improve conditions for increased participation and career development of women in the energy sector. Description: The consultancy shall support the operationalization of a Women in Energy Network of initially compromising approximately 100 members by advising on governance, mandate, and operational modalities. The Network will strengthen coordination among public institutions, civil society, academia, and private-sector actors. Key Outputs / Activities: - Advisory support to Agency of Gender Equality and Ministry of Economy to define the Network"s mandate, governance structure, mission, and cooperation mechanisms. - Support for formalized collaboration between steering institutions and operational partners to ensure sustainability and effectiveness of the Network. Procedure: neg-w-call. Review the original TED notice for the complete requirement, lots, amendments and attachments.