Business Political Insights BPI.GE
TBILISI(BPI)- Amid a growing economy, the country’s power shortage is also growing and in 2025 can become rather dramatic that will definitely increase Georgia’s dependence on neighboring countries.
“In 2019 the country had to import energy in the summer, which had never happened before,” Giorgi Abramishvili, Executive Director – Georgian Renewable Energy Development Association (GREDA) , says.
In Abramishvili’s words, the situation in the country is changing if earlier it faced energy deficit only in winter, now its dependence on external sources grows and the country can’t export energy in the summer.
“By 2025, power shortage will become severe and according to all estimates, the electricity consumption will double in 2025-2030, ”he notes.
According to the head of the Association, Georgia currently consumes 13 billion kWh per year, and by 2030 this figure is forecasted to reach 20-26 billion, as consumption will grow in the summer primarily due to the rapid growth of tourism.
“More hotels, more restaurants, more air conditioning – all this is an integral part of the tourism business, which is growing very actively, and most of it falls in the summer. That is why the dependence on imports for the first time in many decades already extends to the summer period. For example, before thermal power plants worked only in the winter, but in recent years they have to be turned on in the summer, ”he said.
Abramishvili says that an increase in the share of thermal energy in the overall energy balance also means an increase in the country’s dependence on neighbors as Georgia does not have gas reserves and is forced to import it. More active operation of thermal power plants requires more fuel imports. But even this can’t meet demand and this summer all the heating stations had to import electricity, ”Giorgi Abramishvili stresses.
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