Key Provisions on Work with the PRAIP Calculation Program: Program for Ranking and Analysing Investment Projects
OBJECTIVE
This practical manual developed by the USAID Project is designed to assist Ukrainian cities in conducting the comprehensive analysis of the general characteristics and potential consequences of implementing investment projects. These projects are to be executed in the course of implementing the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) in different sectors of the municipal economy.
A comprehensive analysis must be conducted with use of PRAIP: The Program for Ranking and Analysis of Investment Projects, and the manner of working with this program is described in detail in the manual.
TARGET AUDIENCE
- representatives of local authorities; and
- employees of communal utilities (heat supply, water supply and sewage, public transportation, city lighting, greenery planting and landscaping sectors, etc.).
MANUAL IN DETAIL:
The "Key Provisions on Work with PRAIP Calculation Program: Program for Ranking and Analysis of Investment Projects" manual contains six sections and annexes.
Section One provides a review of the opportunities and objectives of the PRAIP program. It presents two approaches used in SEAP development: “top-down” approach: an assessment of the restrictions and opportunities existing in the city for SEAP implementation, and a “bottom-up” approach based on the needs assessment of the territory where the SEAP will be implemented. The automated formation of the investment strategy by specific sectors of the municipal economy optimizes the selection of the investment projects. It also facilitates the assessment as to whether the surveyed population center has a sufficient amount of money for project implementation, according to the available financial framework.
Section Two considers the structure of the PRAIP program and the software necessary for its operation. The general program flowsheet is presented. The Scilab mathematic modelling system was selected as the computer framework for creating the PRAIP program. The important advantages of Scilab include its open source design (free dissemination), free-of-charge basis, high functionality, adaptation for resolving of the optimization tasks, etc. There is a detailed description how PRAIP is installed on the user’s personal computer and how the program is prepared for operation.
Section Three describes the user interface which contains five key sheets:
1) General data
2) Individual indicators on the projects
3) General financing of the projects
4) Annual saving from project implementation
5) Format for saving of the calculation results
For example, Sheet 3 is for inputting information illustrating the financial framework from the specific communal services sector calculated for the forecasted period of implementation of all investment projects, as well as information on forecasted trends in the change of the cost of investments necessary for project implementation according to SEAP. It is important that, with the help of this program, users can assess the amount of savings from IP implementation based on different approaches to project financing.
Section Four describes the process of calculations in PRAIP program. The processing time required by the program may vary from 10 seconds to several minutes, depending on the amount of input data and the characteristics of the user’s personal computer.
Section Five is devoted to troubleshooting. There can be only two types of mistakes: “systemic mistakes” related to the incorrect reflection of PRAIR files’ location or an outdated version of the Windows operating system, and “data input mistakes” caused by operator error and the characteristics of the surveyed IP variety.
Section Six is about the ranking and calculation results. The IP analysis and ranking results, as well as the results of all calculations, are systematized and formed in a special report in a user-defined TXT- or XLS-file.
The Annex contains an example of the report with calculation results formed by the PRAIP program for the public buildings in Lutsk within the framework of SEAP implementation in 2015.
EXPECTED IMPACT OF MANUAL
The manual will be useful for the specialists of the communal utilities and municipal administrations that intend to promote the implementation of economically and socially feasible energy efficient projects and measures to reduce greenhouse gas releases into environment. The application of PRAIR program will significantly reduce the amount of the user’s labor, and reduce the probability of mechanical mistakes during the execution of tedious and multi-factor financial and economic calculations. Therefore, the manual will improve the quality of the Sustainable Energy Action Plans of the Ukrainian cities. 
