Power generationCommissioningO&MContracts
Available · San José --:-- · EN / ES
I advise plant owners and investors — and the operating teams that answer to them — on commissioning and COD, O&M readiness and contract performance, on the owner’s side of the table. 25 years in plant operations and power generation, from Xayaburi on the Mekong to availability contracts with ICE in Costa Rica.
25 years · Xayaburi 1,285 MW · ICE contracts
Fig. 01 — Bujagali, Uganda · 255 MWAnnotations: R. Grant · Photo · Webuild / Evolutio ↗Tap to inspectMove to inspect
Where value leaks
Guarantees are written in the bid. Whether they hold depends on commissioning, on the team that takes over and on how the contract is run, month after month. That is where I work.
Every day past the guaranteed COD costs revenue that never comes back, and delay LDs rarely cover it. Punch lists, acceptance tests and handover are where schedules are won or lost.
Torito · BujagaliTorito commissioned on time and on budget. Bujagali’s commissioning punch list closed.
A new plant needs people, procedures and spares before it needs them. When they arrive late, availability pays for it.
XayaburiBuilt the Operations department — recruitment, training and critical procedures — through commercial start-up.
Availability and efficiency regimes turn hours offline and excess kilojoules into invoice deductions. Maintenance has to fit the contract’s windows, not only the equipment’s needs.
La Joya100% dry-season availability every year of my tenure — tied to 30% of annual invoicing.
1,285MW on the Mekong.
Xayaburi, Laos. I joined before commissioning and stayed through commercial operation in October 2019.
Photo · tuoitre.vn
Practice
Each engagement starts from one of them. The answer is a written position your team can act on — and, where it helps, me in the room with your contractor, operator or utility.
Is the plant ready to be accepted — and are we?
From the recordXayaburi · Torito · Bujagali
Will the team on day one be able to run it?
From the recordXayaburi · Nam Theun 2
Is the plant earning everything the contract allows?
From the recordLa Joya · Torito · PPA implementation and technical amendments
Would your board see the problem before it costs money?
From the recordNam Theun 2 · Hydro Safety Department, Emergency Action Plan
Also on request
What would an underwriter find — and what would it cost you?
From the recordNam Theun 2 · enterprise risk, internal control and shareholder reporting
Will the certification audit hold — and does the system actually run the plant?
From the recordImplementation of integrated management systems: ISO 9001 · 14001 · 45001 · 55001, with risk management aligned to ISO 31000
Record
Selected leadership roles. Installed capacity belongs to each project and is shown for scale.
1,080MW2022 – 2025 · Laos · Nakai Plateau
Deputy Plant DirectorFeb 2022 – Jan 2025
Continuous Improvement DirectorJan – Nov 2025
Joint responsibility for operations, maintenance, warehouse, quality, safety and environment. Then enterprise risk, internal control and reporting to international shareholders as an Executive Team member.
Photo · namtheun2.com ↗
1,285MW2018 – 2022 · Laos · Mekong River
Operations Chief EngineerAug 2018 – Jan 2022
Joined before commissioning and stayed through commercial operation of the first run-of-river hydropower plant on the lower Mekong mainstream.
Photo · tuoitre.vn ↗
377.8MW2011 – 2017 · Costa Rica · Uganda · Panama
Operations and Maintenance ManagerFeb 2011 – Dec 2017
Eight hydropower plants in three countries, each with its own client, contract and team.
Photo · private collection
Earlier · 2000 – 2011
100%dry-season availability at La Joya, every year of my tenure.
Costa Rica. The requirement was tied to 30% of annual invoicing; I coordinated directly with ICE.
Photo · Cnergy
The arithmetic
Move the sliders. These are illustrative numbers, not a valuation — but they are the reason owners pay for experience before problems appear, not after.
Revenue at risk per year
$0
Assumes the plant would have been dispatched at full capacity during the lost hours. Real contracts apply their own deduction formulas, thresholds and caps; under capacity-payment contracts the exposure is the capacity charge.
Illustrative only. Not an offer, valuation or forecast.
Engagements
How it runs: frame the question (one page, agreed before work starts) → work it through on site, in documents and with people → put it in writing, in English or Spanish, with follow-up until it lands.
About
I’m Reynaldo Grant, a Costa Rican engineer. I have spent 25 years inside power plants and industry — commissioning them, running them and reporting on them to the people who own them.
My work has covered plant leadership, PPA implementation and technical amendments, electricity billing, enterprise risk and reporting to international shareholders, on three continents. I now bring that experience to owners as an advisor in my own practice. Every engagement ends in a written position, in English or Spanish.
Contact
What it is, where it stands and what has to be decided. I reply within one business day.
IndependenceBefore accepting work I disclose current engagements, and I do not advise both sides of the same contract.
