Most important power station in Georgia to shut down for three months of repairs

The Inguri HPP, Georgia’s largest electricity producer, will be completely shut down for repairs starting in mid-January.

Work on the HPP will last approximately 100 days, ending sometime around May 10.

The shutdown of the Inguri hydroelectric power station will be a significant test for the Georgian energy system, and will sharply aggravate the already large-scale energy crisis in Abkhazia, since for Abkhazia the station is practically the only source of electricity.

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This hydroelectric power station is a unique facility. It is located directly in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict and is the only Georgian-Abkhaz joint project.

The concrete dam of the station, 270 meters high, is located on territory controlled by the Georgian side, and five generators are in the Gali region, in the territory controlled by the Abkhaz side.

The parties jointly operate the hydropower plant and distribute the electricity it generates.

According to an informal agreement between Tbilisi and Sukhumi, Abkhazia consumes 40 percent and Georgia 60 percent.

Rehabilitation project of Inguri HPP
Reconstruction of the Inguri HPP tunnel was postponed three times: first, the repair was planned for 2018, then for 2019. The next deadline was set for March 2020.

This time the hydroelectric power station will definitely be shut down.

“The reason is for the repair of the branch tunnel. But we don’t know exactly what the situation will be like. The reconstruction project itself was launched three years ago, in 2017, and the process should go according to plan,” said Levan Mebonia, director of the Inguri HPP.