Russia becomes the main supplier of electricity to Georgia

Russia has become the main supplier of electricity to Georgia. Since 2017 Azerbaijan had been occupying this position, but in 2021 the picture will change dramatically, as the share of electricity imports from Azerbaijan in total is only 29%.

In January-August this year, 1,049.4 million kWh of electricity was imported from Russia to Georgia, which is 171% more than in the same period last year.

Until now, the share of electricity imports from Russia to Georgia in total ranged from 13%-35%.

For example, in 2020, the share of Russian imports rose to 35%, and in the first eight months of this year, it amounted to 61% of total imports. Consequently, since this year, Georgia has been buying most of its electricity from Russia.

In recent years, electricity imports to Russia have changed as follows:

● In 2017, Georgia purchased 452.2 million kWh of electricity from Russia, which is 30% of total imports;

● In 2018, the share of Russian electricity in the total import volume significantly decreased and amounted to 13.6%;

● In 2019, the share of electricity imports was 32%.

ENKA Renewables, which was supposed to build a large hydroelectric power plant in the village of Namakhvani in Western Georgia and had signed a contract with the government, has stopped its work on the project and announced that it will no longer build a hydroelectric power plant.

The company said in a statement that the reason for the termination of the contract is a violation of its terms and force majeure force.

The suspension of the Namakhvani project will make Georgia even more energy-dependent on Russia, experts say.

• Investor terminates Namakhvani HPP contract with government of Georgia
• Namakhvani HPP – ‘dam of death’ or critical energy security?
• Russian Gazprom to gasify Abkhazia within a year

If the Namakhvanskaya HPP were built, it would be the largest energy project in the country’s history since independence. The project was to be implemented by the largest construction company in Turkey, its cost was $ 800 million.

The government, which was the main lobbyist for the project, said these fears were exaggerated and that in a few years Georgia would face serious energy security challenges without building new hydroelectric plants.

The protest of various public groups against the construction of the Namakhvan hydroelectric power station lasted for almost a year. For several months, tents were erected near Namakhvani, and activists tried to keep heavy equipment out of the сonstruction sight. In the spring, the protests moved to Tbilisi.