Abkhaz businesses to be required to install solar panels amid energy crisis
Businesses in Abkhazia will be required to install solar panels. The government sees the measure as one way to tackle an energy shortage that has affected the region for years during the autumn and winter.
The initiative aims to reduce peak demand on the power grid and give commercial properties a more independent electricity supply. Under the proposal, newly built commercial premises and businesses would have to meet part of their electricity needs through alternative sources, such as solar panels.
The authorities are currently discussing the electricity consumption threshold above which businesses would have to use alternative, self-contained power sources.
Some businesses in Abkhazia have been using solar panels for several years. For them, installing the panels was a necessity, as they had no other way to secure an uninterrupted electricity supply. However, they received no assistance or incentives from the authorities for doing so.
It remains unclear whether the government will help businesses install solar panels now that the measure is set to become mandatory. This issue is also still under discussion.
Abkhazia relies on the Inguri hydropower plant as its sole source of electricity. Under an agreement with the Georgian side, with which Abkhazia jointly operates the plant, the region receives 40% of the electricity it generates. However, this has not been enough for the past decade, particularly in autumn and winter, when water levels at the plant fall.
Abkhazia’s budget has recently begun to include funding for electricity imports from Russia, but this money is also insufficient to cover the shortfall fully.
As a result, the region faces scheduled power cuts every year from November to March.
The main, though not the only, cause of the shortage is uncontrolled cryptocurrency mining, which consumes huge amounts of electricity. Authorities have managed to reduce the scale of mining significantly in recent years, helping to ease the problem. However, they have yet to resolve it completely.
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