Georgia has been working for years to diversify its sources of electricity imports. According to the Minister of Economy, Natia Turnava, now Georgia is much more energy independent than in 2012, when 90% of the country's electricity imports came from Russia and electricity was brought to Georgia by "Inter RAO." The Minister of Economy claims that the government of the "Georgian Dream" changed this and that last year Azerbaijan became the main source of electricity imports to Georgia.
The former Prime Minister of Georgia, Zurab Noghaideli, who currently oversees the transit of electricity from Azerbaijan to Turkey via Georgia and the import of electricity from Azerbaijan to Georgia through the international company El Green claims that the suspicions about a corrupt scheme are baseless. As Noghaideli told report.ge, in order to answer the questions, the company will regularly publish data on the price of electricity supplied to Georgia by Azerbaijan, the alternative proposals, and more.
For clarity on the process of importing electricity from Azerbaijan, Zurab Noghaideli reviews the import of electricity from Azerbaijan and Russia in January.
"In January 2021, electricity imports to Georgia amounted to 414.1 million kWh. About 262.3 million kWh of electricity from Russia and 151.8 million kWh from Azerbaijan got imported to Georgia. At first, it may seem that Russian imports exceed those of Azerbaijan, but Abkhazia consumed the majority of imports from Russia 182.4 million kWh, and the state did not spend money on it, as Russia subsidized, while 79.9 million kWh were imported from Russia to Georgia by Electricity Market Operator in Georgia. Russian import prices in January were 4.1 cents on the weekends, 4.1 cents for 10 hours a night. As the first ten days of January are holidays, imports from Russia were commercially acceptable for Georgia, so 69.9 million kWh of imports were brought from Russia for an average of 4.1 cents. A portion of the electricity from Azerbaijan was 47.2 million kWh - delivered directly to consumers throughout the month, 12.9 million kWh passed through Turkey. Electricity Market Operator imported 104.3 million kWh under a contract with El Green. Prices were as follows: 3.9 cents on weekends, 3.9 cents at night, and 5.4 cents during the day and evening, for 14 hours. Since January 11, Electricity Market Operator has been buying electricity from Azerbaijan and not from Russia," Zurab Noghaideli stated.
