Cross-Border Electricity Trading Summit:
Georgia promotes trade advantages of its electricity

Georgia’s capital Tbilisi is hosting the Cross-Border Electricity Trading Summit, bringing electricity suppliers together to discuss how to create a competitive trading environment for the electricity produced in Georgia.

The Summit was opened today by Georgia’s Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze and the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Caucasus Mission Director Douglas H. Ball.

Decision-making representative from the electricity sector, international financing institutions, private investors, experts and scientists participated in the Summit.

Supporting the regional partnership is very important for our Government and especially in the field of energy,” said Kaladze.

In order to facilitate cross-border trade we actively continue construction and rehabilitation of the energy infrastructure that connects Georgia to its neighbour trading countries. I would underline the Black Sea Transmission Network Project,” he added.

The 500/400/220kW Akhaltsikhe substation was officially commissioned on December 10, 2013. Construction of the substation was implemented under the framework of the Black Sea Transmission Network Project (BSTN) project, which alongside this facility included several other important components –construction and rehabilitation of overhead transmission lines Vardzia 500 and Zekari 500 that interconnected Akhaltskhe, Zestaponi and Gardabani substations, as well as the construction of a new 400 kV overhead line from Akhaltsikhe substation to the Georgia-Turkey border.

Decision-making representative from the electricity sector, international financing institutions, private investors, experts and scientists participated in the Summit. Photo by Georgia's Ministry of Energy.

The total contract price of the Akhaltsikhe substation and back-to-back station amounted to €158.8 million. The BSTN project was financed using €80 million loans each from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), and a €100 million loan from the German Reconstruction Credit Bank KfW.

The Government of Georgia provided a co-financing contribution of €53 million, and €8 million was granted by the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) of the European Union (EU).

Works commenced on September 1, 2010 and were completed in April 2013. Commissioning tests of the back-to-back station were performed at the end of November 2013.

Georgia was the first country in the Caucasus region to install a high-voltage direct current station (HVDC).

Thanks to this project Georgia is now able to supply firstly the Turkish energy market and later the European Union countries with renewable energy. Our goal is for Georgia’s energy sector to play the leading role in developing the region,” Kaladze said.

Meanwhile, the Summit also facilitated discussions on ongoing reforms in the energy sector. Those involved in the Summit shared their experience in trading with electricity.