Procurement of ESG Report Verification Services — Electricity Sector Transformation and Resilient Transmission

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION) Country Republic of Uzbekistan Name of Project Electricity Sector Transformation and Resilient Transmission (ESTART) Project Loan/Credit/Grant No. IDA-69430 Assignment Title Independent Assurance (Verification) of the 2025 Sustainability Report of JSC “National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan” Reference No. (as per Procurement Plan) ESTART/LCS/ESG-VERIFICATION-2026 Selection Method Least-Cost Based Selection (LCS) Date of Issue 24 September 2026 Deadline for Submission of EOIs 2 October 2026 1. The Republic of Uzbekistan has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Electricity Sector Transformation and Resilient Transmission (ESTART) Project, and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. The Project is implemented by JSC “National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan” (“NEGU” or the “Client”). 2. The consulting services (“the Services”) include the independent assurance (verification) of NEGU’s Sustainability Report for 2025, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards and the applicable industry-specific SASB Standards, with the purpose of expressing limited assurance in accordance with ISAE 3000 (Revised) in respect of the information disclosed on seventeen (17) GRI indicators and three (3) SASB indicators. The Services include: planning of the engagement, including a kick-off meeting, confirmation of the scope, boundaries and list of indicators actually disclosed, and approval of a detailed work schedule; information requests, analysis of internal corporate documents, interviews with the Client’s structural subdivisions, collection and analysis of evidence, and analysis of the Client’s internal processes for collecting and validating sustainability information with practical recommendations for their improvement; review of the Sustainability Report text in relation to the indicators under review and preparation of recommendations for its revision; issuance of an independent assurance (verification) conclusion expressing limited assurance, in Uzbek, Russian and English, for publication together with the Sustainability Report; and preparation of a Management Letter with presentation materials, in Uzbek, Russian and English. The scope of assurance is limited to the information actually disclosed in the Sustainability Report, as set out in the Terms of Reference. The results of the Services shall be submitted no later than forty-five (45) working days from the date of signature of the Contract. 3. The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment: https://cloud.uzbekistonmet.uz/index.php/s/p8j2BM2tRtMPQB4 4. NEGU now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. 5. Shortlisting criteria and evaluation methodology. The shortlisting criteria are set out in paragraphs 5.1 to 5.5 below. Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage. 5.1 General provisions (a) Consulting/audit firms will be selected for inclusion in the shortlist on the basis of the Expressions of Interest (EOIs) submitted by them. (b) The evaluation will be carried out sequentially in two steps: (i) verification of compliance with the minimum mandatory qualification requirements (paragraph 5.2) on a “Complies / Does Not Comply” basis; and (ii) rating evaluation (paragraph 5.3) of the firms that comply with all minimum mandatory qualification requirements. Only firms that comply with all minimum mandatory qualification requirements will be admitted to the rating evaluation. (c) Firms that comply with all minimum mandatory qualification requirements will be ranked in descending order of their final rating scores. If more than eight (8) firms comply with all minimum mandatory qualification requirements, only the eight (8) highest-ranked firms will be shortlisted, applying the ranking and tie-breaking rules in paragraph 5.4. (d) At the shortlisting stage, the qualifications and experience of individual Key Experts, the detailed methodology for performing the assignment, the technical proposal and the price proposal will not be evaluated. Accordingly, no price proposal, detailed technical proposal or methodology is required, and the CVs, qualifications and experience of individual Key Experts and the proposed team composition will not be evaluated. (e) All firms will be evaluated on the basis of the same criteria and the same scoring procedure set out in this REOI. Points will be awarded exclusively on the basis of the information submitted by the firm in its EOI that allows the relevant experience and qualifications to be objectively confirmed. 5.2 Minimum mandatory qualification requirements (Complies / Does Not Comply) Failure to comply with any one of the following requirements will result in the firm not being admitted to the rating evaluation. No. Requirement Evidence to be submitted in the EOI (a) Legal status and eligibility. The firm shall be a duly registered legal entity, shall be entitled to carry out the relevant professional activity in accordance with the legislation of its country of registration, and shall comply with the applicable World Bank requirements regarding eligibility of Consultants. By the time the Contract is signed, the firm shall comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan applicable to the provision of the relevant professional services, including the requirements for inclusion in the relevant register of audit organizations of the Republic of Uzbekistan, if such inclusion is mandatory for the performance of this assignment. Brief information about the firm, including year of establishment, country of registration and main areas of professional activity; documents or information confirming the legal status of the firm. (b) Independence and absence of conflict of interest. The firm shall confirm the absence of any unresolvable conflict of interest capable of affecting the objectivity and independence of performance of the assignment, as well as compliance with the applicable requirements of professional ethics and independence. Declaration/letter confirming the absence of any unresolvable conflict of interest and confirming independence. (c) Profile and duration of professional activity. The firm shall carry out professional activities in audit, independent assurance, ESG, sustainable development and/or non-financial reporting and shall have at least 5 years of relevant professional experience. Information on the duration of the firm’s activities in audit, independent assurance, ESG, sustainable development and/or non-financial reporting. (d) Experience in similar assignments. The firm shall have confirmed experience of successfully completing, during the last 5 years, at least three projects for the independent assurance (verification) of sustainability reports and/or public non-financial reports prepared using the GRI Standards and/or SASB Standards, in accordance with ISAE 3000 (Revised). List of similar projects completed during the last 5 years, with the information specified in paragraph 5.5 (b) for each project. (e) Quality management system. The firm shall have and apply a system of quality management for professional services in accordance with the requirements of ISQM 1. Information on the quality management system applied. 5.3 Rating evaluation criteria Firms that comply with all minimum mandatory qualification requirements will be rated as follows: Code Evaluation criterion Scoring scale Max. score C1 General professional experience of the firm in audit, independent assurance, ESG and/or sustainable development. The duration of the firm’s professional activity in audit, independent assurance, ESG, sustainable development and/or non-financial reporting is evaluated. up to and including 4 years — 0 points from 5 to 6 years inclusive — 8 points from 7 to 8 years inclusive — 12 points from 9 to 10 years inclusive — 16 points more than 10 years — 20 points 20 C2 Experience in similar projects for the independent assurance of sustainability reports prepared using the GRI Standards and/or SASB Standards, in accordance with ISAE 3000 (Revised), during the last 5 years. The firm’s confirmed experience in performing, during the last 5 years, projects for the independent assurance (verification) of sustainability reports and/or public non-financial reports prepared using the GRI and/or SASB Standards, in accordance with ISAE 3000 (Revised), is evaluated. Number of relevant projects: 3 projects — 16 points 4 projects — 24 points 5 projects — 32 points 6–7 projects — 40 points 8 or more projects — 50 points 50 C3 Experience in similar projects in the electric power, energy and/or infrastructure sector. Confirmed experience in performing similar projects for the independent assurance (verification) of sustainability reporting for organizations in the electric power, energy and/or other major infrastructure sector is evaluated. no relevant experience — 0 points 1 similar project — 8 points 2 similar projects — 12 points 3 similar projects — 16 points 4 or more similar projects — 20 points 20 C4 Experience in similar projects in Central Asian countries. Confirmed experience in performing similar projects for organizations operating in Central Asian countries is evaluated. no relevant experience — 0 points 1 similar project — 4 points 2 similar projects — 6 points 3 or more similar projects — 10 points 10 TOTAL 100 (a) Under criterion C3, all other things being equal, experience in performing similar projects for organizations in the electric power sector, including electric grid operators, transmission system companies and other comparable organizations, shall be considered the most relevant. (b) Under criterion C4, the absence of experience in performing similar projects in Central Asian countries shall not constitute grounds for excluding a firm from the rating evaluation and shall be taken into account solely when awarding points under that criterion. 5.4 Final score, ranking and tie-breaking (a) The final rating score (FS) of each firm shall be the sum of the points awarded under the criteria in paragraph 5.3: FS = C1 + C2 + C3 + C4 , where C1 is general professional experience (max. 20 points), C2 is experience in similar sustainability reporting assurance projects (max. 50 points), C3 is sector experience (max. 20 points), and C4 is experience in similar projects in Central Asian countries (max. 10 points). The maximum final score is 100 points. (b) Firms that comply with all minimum mandatory qualification requirements of paragraph 5.2 shall be ranked in descending order of their final scores. The shortlist shall comprise the highest-ranked firms, up to a maximum of eight (8). Firms ranked below eighth place shall not be shortlisted, regardless of their score. 5.5 Documents and information to be submitted in the EOI (a) To confirm compliance with the minimum requirements and to enable the rating evaluation, interested firms shall submit, at a minimum, the following: brief information about the firm, including year of establishment, country of registration and main areas of professional activity; documents or information confirming the legal status of the firm; information on the duration of activities in audit, independent assurance, ESG, sustainable development and/or non-financial reporting; a declaration/letter confirming the absence of any unresolvable conflict of interest and confirming independence; information on the quality management system applied; a list of similar projects completed during the last 5 years for the independent assurance (verification) of sustainability reports and/or public non-financial reports, indicating the assurance standards applied, including ISAE 3000 (Revised), and the reporting standards applied, including GRI and/or SASB; information on experience in performing similar projects in the electric power, energy and/or infrastructure sector; and information on experience in performing similar projects in Central Asian countries. (b) For each similar project, the following information shall be provided for the purpose of confirming the relevant experience and conducting the rating evaluation: 1. Project name 7. Subject matter of independent assurance 2. Name of the Client 8. Independent assurance standard applied 3. Country where the project was implemented 9. Sustainability reporting standards applied 4. Year of completion 10. Role of the firm, if the project was performed jointly with other organizations 5. Client’s industry 11. Client contact details for verification of experience (subject to consent to their disclosure) 6. Brief description of the services provided (c) Where confidentiality obligations apply, the firm may provide other information or documents that enable the relevant experience to be confirmed without breaching such obligations. (d) When evaluating jointly performed projects, only the experience and scope of work actually performed by the relevant firm and capable of being confirmed by the information submitted shall be taken into account. (e) In the case of a joint venture, the minimum requirements in paragraph 5.2 (c) and (d) and the rating criteria will be assessed on the basis of the combined qualifications and experience of the joint venture members, while each member shall individually meet the requirements in paragraph 5.2 (a), (b) and (e). The experience of sub-consultants will not be taken into account. 6. The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs 3.14, 3.16 and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” Seventh Edition, September 2025 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. Given the nature of the assignment, interested Consultants shall be independent of NEGU and shall comply with the applicable IESBA independence requirements. In particular, a firm (including its affiliates) that has participated in the preparation of NEGU’s 2025 Sustainability Report, or of the information subject to assurance, would be considered to have a conflict of interest for this assignment. 7. Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications, but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected. 8. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Least-Cost Based Selection (LCS) method set out in the Procurement Regulations. Shortlisted Consultants will be invited to submit technical and financial proposals. Only the Consultants whose technical proposals achieve at least the minimum technical score specified in the RFP will have their financial proposals opened, and the Consultant offering the lowest evaluated price will be selected and invited for negotiations. 9. Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 09:00 to 18:00 hours Tashkent time, Monday to Friday. 10. Expressions of interest must be delivered in written form to the address below (in person, by mail, or by e-mail) by 2 October 2026, 18:00 Tashkent time. EOIs shall be submitted in English and Russian. 11. This REOI does not create any obligation on the part of the Client to shortlist any firm or to conclude a contract. The Client shall have no obligation to reimburse any costs incurred by firms in preparing and submitting their EOIs. Firms are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the information and documents submitted. JSC “National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan” – Project Implementation Unit 42 Osiyo Street, Tashkent 100084, Republic of Uzbekistan Tel: +998 71 236 66 28 E-mail: pmu.modernization@gmail.com; b.mavlonov@uzbekistonmet.uz ; a.zufarova@uzbekistonmet.uz