Rotating power outages in Abkhazia have increased to six hours a day. This means the electricity is now cut off for two hours longer than before. The shortage of electricity is due to the water level at the Ingur hydroelectric power plant dam dropping to a critical level, and the government lacks the funds to buy electricity from Russia.
Abkhazia has been experiencing a severe shortage of electricity for five years. In this period, the annual volume of consumed energy increased from 2 to 3 billion kWh. This sharp increase is caused by illegal mining, which the government has been unsuccessfully fighting against all these years.
According to a gentleman’s agreement made right after the end of the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 1992-93, Abkhazia receives 40% of the generation from the Ingur hydroelectric power station, located in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone (the remaining 60% goes to the Georgian side). However, in recent years, this quota has clearly been insufficient for the republic.
Until recently, part of the deficit was covered by humanitarian electricity supplies from Russia, and another part through purchases from the same Russia, as much as Abkhazia’s modest financial resources would allow.
But there was still not enough electricity, so it was necessary to save by introducing a schedule of rotating outages during the autumn-winter period.
After Russia refused to supply humanitarian electricity to Abkhazia in November 2023, the problem worsened even more.
The authorities in Abkhazia hope that the situation with power supply will improve by the end of April, when the snow in the mountains starts to melt, increasing the water level at the Ingur dam.
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