MCC is partnering with GoB to implement the Benin Power Compact (also known as the Benin II Energy Compact) from 2017 to 2022 in order to address the challenges associated with electricity generation, distribution, and access and to align the various programs supporting the Beninese power sector with GoB priorities. The compact includes four projects: (1) the Electricity Distribution Project, which will renovate the country’s electrical grid and construct a national dispatching center; (2) the Electricity Generation Project, which supports entry of private energy producers into the Benin market; (3) the Off-Grid Electricity Project, which supports independent renewable power producers entering the Benin market; and (4) the Policy Reform and Institutional Strengthening Project, which includes support to GoB to revise energy codes and improve the regulatory environment, upgrade the operational and financial functioning of the main electric utility, and encourage the adoption of energy-efficient practices.

MCC has contracted with Mathematica to conduct an evaluation of the Policy Reform and Institutional Strengthening Project (also known as the Reform Project), a component of the compact intended to improve government-affiliated institutions involved in Benin’s power sector. In particular, the Reform Project aims to strengthen regulation of the power sector, establish cost-effective tariffs, improve functioning of the main electric utility, and provide an institutional framework for independent power producers.