Government officials, consultants visit Anaklia town for Black Sea submarine power cable project

Georgian Government officials and professionals from the Italian consulting company CESI on Tuesday visited western Georgia's Black Sea coastal town of Anaklia to select the approximate route and locations for the Black Sea submarine electricity cable project, an international initiative to connect the South Caucasus power grid to that of Europe.

Georgian State Electrosystem said the officials also visited the Jvari 500 substation, where the cable is planned to be connected to the energy system of Georgia.

We are investigating the possibility of electricity transmission between Georgia and Romania through a 1,100 kilometre-long cable passing through the bottom of the Black Sea. We have already selected the route and the location of the transit stations", said Stefano Malgarotti, a CESI representative and Project Manager.

Photo: Georgian State Electrosystem

The Italian company is due to complete the feasibility study on the project, signed by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania and Hungary in December, by late 2023.

It involves construction of a high-voltage underwater transmission grid which will connect Georgia with Romania and allow the export of green energy to Europe. 

After implementation, the 1,195 km-long cable - with 1,100 km of its length laid underwater - will enable the countries of the South Caucasus and Romania to take advantage of “broadened export opportunities” and also trade in electricity at hourly market prices.