WB TF 071411 Eltillgång WB TF 071411 ElectrAccess Preparation of a rural/renewable access-scale up programme to the     Rural Energy Agency. Support to the electricity regulatory system at  the Electricity and Water Utitility Regulatory Authority in Tanzania. Financed by a single-donor trust fund (TF) managed by the World Bank. Förberedelse av ett uppskalningsbart program till Rural Energy Agency för eltillgång till landsbygden och genom förnyelsebara källor. Stöd  till elreglersystem till reglermyndigheten för el- och vattenbolag i  Tanzania. Finansieras genom en bilateral stödfond hanterad av         Världsbanken. Tanzania has abundant renewable energy resources that include hydropower, solar energy, wind, and biomass. Despite this significant potential, the renewable energy industry remains in its infancy, hindered by regulatory, financial, and technical capacity barriers.

In view of the low access rates that prevailed in Tanzania in the late 2000s, Sweden provided funding to support various interventions in the Tanzania energy sector through the Tanzania: Swedish Support to Electricity Access and Regulation in Tanzania (TF071411) Trust Fund (TF). A total amount of SEK 55 million (approximately US$ 7.8 million) funding was allocated to support renewable energy scale-up; energy access acceleration; and improvements in the electricity regulatory system. The Administrative Agreement for the TF was signed between the World Bank and Sweden in December 2009 and has been amended several times to accommodate and respond to changing sector needs. The TF was used to provide vital strategic support to supplement technical
assistance resources to the Rural Energy Agency (REA), the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), and TANESCO under the World Bank funded Tanzania Energy Development and Access Expansion Project (TEDAP) and the Tanzania Rural Electrification Expansion Program (TREEP).

The SIDA TF provided instrumental support for successfully piloting bottom-up electrification approaches under TEDAP by assisting the sector institutions, local developers, and commercial banks to prepare a plausible project pipeline by undertaking the requisite technical, economic, and financial appraisal, transaction structuring that will facilitate financial closure, while also ensuring that the projects comply with the relevant environmental and social safeguards requirements. The TF also supported the formulation and operationalization of a working group comprising of REA, TANESCO and EWURA to analyze the technical, procurement and economic challenges to rural electrification expansion and to develop low-cost electrification expansion pilots for grid
extension in rural areas.

The TF has also played a critical role in the preparation and implementation of TREEP, an innovative Program for Results (PforR) operation, which was approved by the World Banks Board of Directors on June 21, 2016, became effective in March 2017, and is currently in its fifth year of implementation. TREEPs Project Development Objectives are to: i) to increase access to electricity in rural areas; and (ii) to scale-up the supply of renewable energy in rural areas while strengthening sector institutional capacity. SIDA  TF resources have been critical in the implementation supervision support of TREEP,
especially the independent verification annual results reported by REA. The TF has also supported the engagement between commercial banks (participating financial institutions (PFIs)) and private sector renewable energy, that can potentially benefit for TREEP credit line (CL) programs. The TF has also supported a mobilization and awareness campaign program to equip communities with the necessary information to make informed decisions when applying for electricity connections.

Development Objective and Program Description
The Trust Fund had two objectives. Firstly, it aimed to assist REA and other sector stakeholders to build capacity to develop, finance and implement a scaled-up on-grid and off-grid rural electrification program with main emphasis on renewable energy development. Secondly, it aimed to assist EWURA to gain capacity to develop a regulatory system to strengthen and monitor the performance of TANESCO, Small Power Producers (SPPs), and other sector players and enterprises. 

Progress towards achieving the programs objectives was measured by the following indicators:
- Access scale-up approach consolidated, involving not only support for bottom-up initiatives piloted by TEDAP, but also the REA-led grid extension works; and
- A regulatory system for reviewing the power purchase costs from large Independent Power Producers (IPPs), promoting efficient and financially sustainable grid and off-grid Small Power Producers (SPPs) and the development and implementation of credible systems to monitor the commercial, financial, and operational performance of TANESCO and other sector enterprises.

This Conclusion on Performance provides an overview of the major achievements and activities supported under the Sida TF during the period from January 2020 to December 2020. It also provide the lessons learnt during the implementation period.