Course Description
Donors do not finance pipes. They finance utilities that can operate and maintain pipes after the project closes — which is why financial sustainability of the municipal utility is a condition of the loan, not an afterthought. A utility that cannot cover operating costs will not receive a second tranche, regardless of how badly the infrastructure is needed.
This programme addresses the management and financial sustainability of municipal utilities. Participants learn utility governance and the relationship with the local authority, cost structure and cost recovery, tariff methodology and affordability, billing, collection and arrears, asset management and investment planning, performance measurement and benchmarking, and the sustainability requirements attached to donor and IFI financing.
What you will achieve
By the end of this programme, participants will be able to:
- Explain municipal utility governance and accountability
- Analyse utility cost structure and cost recovery
- Understand tariff methodology and affordability constraints
- Manage billing, collection and arrears
- Apply asset management to utility infrastructure
- Build investment plans and prioritise capital works
- Measure performance and benchmark against peers
- Meet financial sustainability requirements of donor financing
How the course is delivered
The programme combines utility management with financial analysis exercises on realistic municipal utility data. Participants work through cost recovery, tariff structure, investment prioritisation and sustainability assessment.
The programme connects operational management to the financial sustainability conditions that determine whether a utility can access and retain donor and IFI financing.
Designed for
This programme is designed for:
- Directors and managers of municipal utilities
- Finance and economics staff of utilities
- Local authority officials overseeing utilities
- Specialists preparing donor-funded projects
- Anyone accountable for utility sustainability
Daily programme
- Municipal utility governance models
- Relationship with the local authority
- Roles, accountability and autonomy
- Regulatory environment
- Utility cost structure
- Cost recovery and subsidy
- Tariff methodology
- Affordability and social protection
- Billing, collection and arrears
- Commercial losses
- Asset management for utilities
- Investment planning and prioritisation
- Performance measurement and KPIs
- Benchmarking
- Donor and IFI sustainability requirements
- Sustainability assessment workshop
Certification & accreditation
BII Certificate of Completion
BII Certificate of Completion Upon successful completion, participants receive a BII Development Institute Certificate of Completion with a unique reference code that is independently verifiable. Our certificates are recognised internationally and reflect successful completion of your chosen programme.
