MK Advisors, LLC Awarded USAID Contract for
Advancing Modern Power through Utility Partnerships “AmpUp”
Brighton, MI – October 5, 2021 – MK Advisors joins a co-creation collaborative to enable and facilitate the future of modern power through utility partnerships.
On July 20, USAID launched the $39M Advancing Modern Power through Utility Partnerships (AmpUp) program which introduces an innovative performance improvement model centered around peer-to-peer relationships and strong practitioner and stakeholder networks to deploy expertise and establish pathways to implement best practices with measurable and sustainable impacts. This work will take a new approach to building collaborative structures for USAID-assisted utilities.
MK Advisors joins organizations including Arizona State University (ASU), the United States Energy Association (USEA), the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), and Segura Consulting in this five year USAID contract.
MK Advisors is the only woman-led small business on this contract.
Michelle Klassen Merrigan, President of MKA Advisors, says “What is most exciting to me is that these kinds of future-looking programs can, and have changed the trajectory of modern society. In this way, our work will deliver a focused and intentional plan to build the utility of the future. In the Pacific, in Sub Saharan Africa, and in various other Indigenous communities, MK Advisors will begin this work by listening to people who breathe the air, drink the water, and plant the trees. These are the communities who deserve equitable access to advanced solutions. We are honored to be trusted with such a mission, and plan to do right by the people who need it the most.”
AmpUp complements existing and traditional models of technical assistance for utility performance improvement by establishing peer-to-peer knowledge exchange and augmenting it with supplemental technical assistance. Relationships and networks built through AmpUp will facilitate bi-directional learning and benefit not only USAID-assisted utilities, but also U.S. partner utilities, energy companies, and technology exporters for years to come.
