Economy Minister: Georgia has “all conditions” to be net electricity exporter
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday said the country had “all conditions” to be a net exporter of electricity. Photo: Ministry of Economy
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Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday said the country had “all conditions” to be a net exporter of electricity, adding the Government’s “main goal” was to ensure export from local generation to the European Union.
Commenting on the Black Sea submarine cable project - intended to connect the grids of the South Caucasus and European Union member states - Davitashvili said the initiative was a “multibillion-dollar project” implementation of which would take “many years”.
Thus investing in it makes sense if we have more generation of electricity in the country, otherwise the investment would not be justified. According to all our forecasts, Georgia will be able to produce additional electricity from renewable sources in the future, which will be intended for export”, he said.
The Minister added generation this year had hit a “record high” of more than 13 billion kWh.
The ongoing projects managed by the Ministry, together with the private sector, and the memorandums signed with the developers allow us to generate even more”, the official also said.
Davitashvili noted despite an increase in domestic consumption, the number was still under the volume of generation, creating export potential for energy.
That is exactly why we are diversifying [export markets]. Today, the main export market is Turkey, which is an important market [...] but the more diversified we are, the more important it is for energy”, he said.
The Minister highlighted “significant investments” were going to be made “in the coming years” to develop transmission infrastructure and “fully absorb the energy potential”.
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday said the Government had “big plans” for the Enguri hydro power plant, the largest electricity producer in the country, to ensure its “successful” operation.
Levan Davitashvili, the Georgian Economy Minister, on Wednesday told the Parliament electricity generation in the country had hit its “historical high” of 11.1 billion KW/h in the first nine months of this year.
Strategic cooperation between Georgia and the United States and the partnership in trade, transport and energy were discussed on Saturday in a meeting between the Georgian Deputy Economy Minister Genadi Arveladze and Heidi Gomez, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
Oliver Varhelyi, the European Union Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Policy, on Sunday announced the bloc would allocate €17 billion for the economic and investment plan of its Eastern Partnership initiative, including €2.3 billion in estimated total investments for the Black Sea Strategic Submarine Electricity Cable.
A new report published on Wednesday by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, identified renewables, transport and logistics and digital transformation as key sectors to boost Georgia’s private sector-led growth and help the country reach high-income status.
The Georgian Energy Development Fund and the Emirati state-owned renewable energy company Masdar on Tuesday signed an agreement on establishing the “largest” solar power plant in Georgia, the Ministry of Economy announced.
The Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission on Thursday decided to reduce electricity tariffs for both household and non-household consumers by three tetri per one kWh starting next month.
Georgian deputy economy ministers Romeo Mikautadze and Vakhtang Tsintsadze on Thursday said the decrease of electricity tariffs for both household and non-household consumers by three tetri per one kWh was “a result of the Government’s correct economic and energy policies”.
Zurab Pataradze, the Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, on Friday said negotiations on the Black Sea submarine cable project - intended to connect the grids of the South Caucasus and European Union member states - was in an “active phase”.
Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Tuesday met United Arab Emirates officials to discuss trade and economic ties on the sidelines of the ongoing World Governments Summit in Dubai.
The fourth and final stage of the renovation of the Enguri hydropower plant, Georgia’s largest electricity producing facility, is starting in the country’s north-west with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Union.