Expression of Interest (EoI) for the Supply, Installation, Operation and Maintenance of Standalone Solar Home Systems (North-West) at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA)

Posted by Kordinichi on Mon 14th Oct, 2024 - nigeriantenders.com

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) invites reputable and interested renewable energy developers to submit their Expression of Interest (EoI) for the Supply, Installation, Operation and Maintenance of Standalone Solar Home Systems (North-West). Interested developers should possess relevant qualifications and experience.

The Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is the Implementing Agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria tasked with electrification of rural and unserved communities. Our Mission is to provide access to reliable electric power supply for rural dwellers irrespective of where they live and what they do, in a way that would allow for reasonable return on investment through appropriate tariff that is economically responsive and supportive of the average rural customer.

We invite reputable and interested renewable energy developers to  bid  for:

Title: Expression of Interest (EoI) for the Supply, Installation, Operation and Maintenance of Standalone Solar Home Systems (North-West)

Lot Number: Lot 3B
Location: North-West

1.0 Introduction

The Federal Government of Nigeria through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has embarked on a rural electrification programme which will partly be funded by capital grants provided through the Rural Electrification Fund (REF).
In line with the provision of the Electricity Act 2023, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) hereby invites reputable and interested renewable energy developers to submit an Expression of Interest (Eol) for the third (3rd) call of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) Grant, to support the deployment of Isolated Solar Mini-grids and Solar Home Systems towards accelerating access to electricity to rural and underserved areas across Nigeria under Public Private Partnership arrangement.
The aforementioned project is to be operated on a commercial Public-Private-Partnership arrangement, based on a sustainable business models in remote rural and underserved communities in Nigeria, where such project(s) would have been economically unviable without this intervention.

2.0 Eligibility Requirements
Prospective bidders are required to submit genuine copies of the following documents as proof of their technical eligibility:

Evidence Certificate of Incorporation with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) including Forms CAC2 and CAC7 (or CAC1.1)
Evidence of Company's income Tax Clearance Certificate for the last Three (3) years (2021, 2022 and 2003) valid till 31st December, 2004
Evidence of Persion Clearance Certificate valid until 31st December, 2024 (this requirement is only applicable to bidders whose number of staff is 15 and above)
Evidence of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Compliance Certificate valid until 31st December, 2024 (this requirement is only applicable to bidders whose number of staff is 5 and above or the bidder's annual turnover is N50Million and above)
Evidence Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Clearance Certificate valid until 31st December 2024
Evidence of registration on the BPP National Data Base of Federal contractors, Consultants and Service Providers by submission of a valid Interim Registration Report (IRR) expiring on 31st December 2024 or valid Certificate issued by Bareas of Public Procurement
Sworn Affidavit disclosing whether or not any Officer of the relevant committee of the Rural Electrification Agency or Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) is a former of presest Director, shareholder or has any pecuniary interest in the bidder said to confirm that all information presented in its bid are true and correct in all Particulars
Evidence of previous experience in the supply and installation of Solar Home Systems in at least two communities in Nigeria which are currently working (letter of comfort from the community to be provided and verified by the Agency).
Evidence of Technical qualities of SHS products such as Solar Panels, Inverters, Charge Controllers etc. and accompanying Manufacturer Certifications eg. (ISO 9000 for Quality Management)
Company's Audited Accounts for the last three (3) years (2021, 2022 and 2023)
Reference letter from a reputable Commercial Bank in Nigeria indicating willingness to provide croit facility for the execution of the project when needed
List of Plant Equipment with proof of Ownership Lease Agreement (e.g., Side Drop Crane, Pick up Van, Test Equipment etc.).
Evidence of current Cooperate License issood by National Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA)
Company Profile with the Curriculum of key staff to be deployed for the project, including copies of COREN (Electrical OSRBN, ARCON, CORBON, etc.
For Joint Venture Partnership, Memocandam of Understanding (MoU) should be provided (CAC, Current Tax Clearance Certificate, Current NSITF Certificate, Current Pension Compliance Certificate, Current ITF Compliance Certificate, Current BPPIRR and Sworn Affidavit) are compulsory for each JV Partner
Duly executed Power of Attorney or Board Resolution authorizing a designated officer of the compsery to act as a representative and to bind the company by signing all bids, contract Agreement and other documents with REA on behalf of the company, duly signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Hoard of Directors
Evidence that all documents for submissions were transmimed with a covering forwarding letter on the company's Letter Head paper, bearing among other things the Registration Number (RC) as issued by Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Contact Address Telephone Number (Preferable GSM No) and E-mail address. The Letterhead paper must indicate the names and Nationalities of Directors of the company at the bottom of the page duly signed by the authorized person of the company.

4.0 Submission of Expression of Interest
All submissions are to be covered with a forwarding letter on the company's letterhead, duly signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the firm or Authorized Officer
Interested applicants shall submit 2 (two) spirally bound hard copies ie, one Original and two duplicate copies in A4 size papers, together with one soft copy in a CD or Flash Drive of expression of interest, all of which should be enclosed in a sealed large envelope. The envelope shall be marked at the top left comer with "Expression of Interest for REF Call 3 Grant" with the preferred Category (A or B).

The outer envelope should be addressed to:
Managing Director / CEO
Rural Electrification Agency, Corporate Headquarters.
22 Freetown Street,
Wase 2, Abuja.

Note

The reverse side of all envelopes used must bear the Applicant Company's name and address, and authorizal contact person's phone numbers (all written out in capital letters)
Submission deadline for Expression of Interest documents12:00 noon on Monday, 11th November, 2024. Documents received after the deadline shall be rejected and retumed unopened to the bidders who submined them
Bidders should ensure that they sign the Bid Submission Register and obtain Bid Acknowledgment Receipt before dropping their bids in the Tender Boxes as REA will not be held responsible for lost, misplaced or wrongly summitted bids of the submission

5.0 Opening of EOI Documents

The Expression of Interest (EOI) Documents shall be opened immediately after close of submissions at 12:00 noon on Monday, 11th November, 2024.
The Public opening shall take place at REA Corporate Headquarters 22 Freetowa Street, Wase 2, Abuja in the presence of bidders or their representatives anal observers from invited profesional Bodies and civil society Organizations listed in paragraph 2.0 and the mathorised representative of the Firm should sign every page

Application Closing Date
Monday; 11th November, 2024 (at 12 noon).

Important Notices

Only shortlisted Applicants at EOP's evaluation will be invited at a later date for collection of Request for Proposals
Documents should be aged and numbered or pagod in the order they are listed in paragraph 2.0, and the authorized representative of the company should sign every page of the submission
Developers with history of default on agreements, abandonment non-completion of rural electrification projects or who lack capacity need not apply
Submission of fake documents may lead to prosecution as all documents submitted shall be referred to the issuing authorities or Security Agencies for verification.
Firms producing or assembling solar products in Nigeria shall receive preference

Disclaimer and Conclusion

This advertisement is published for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer, commitment or obligation by REA to transact with any party, or entitle any Applicant to make any claims whatever seek any indemnity from the REA
The REA shall not be responsible for any cost or expenses incurred by any interested party in connection with the preparation of documents or submissions made in response to this invitation or in response to any inquiry or clarification arising from this exercise.
The Rural Electrification Agency pledges fair and equal treatment of all applicants but is not bound to shortlist any applicant and reserves the right to annul this Call process at any time without incurring liabilities to itself or under obligation to explain to any applicant the reasons for the cancellation.

Enquiries:

All enquiries and requests for clarification regarding this invitation may be directed to:
Director, Procurement
Rural Electrification Agency,
Corporate Headquarters,
22 Freetown Street,
Wuse 2 Abuja.
ref.info@rea.gov.ng .