Baku, Azerbaijan, July 23
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Electricity consumption in Georgia exceeds production, JSC Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE) told Trend.
Talking about the measuresbeing taken to solve this problem, the company said that firstly it is planned to build a thermal power plant with a capacity of 250MW by the end of the year, and another plant with a capacity of 500MW by 2023.
The company also noted the construction of a hydro power plant and construction of a renewable power plant until 2021.
As the company said, according to the data of the last year, domestic electricity consumption increased by 5.9 percent.
At the same time the volume of electricity production in Georgia, according to the data of the last year, increased by 5.35 percent.
The increase in electricity consumption is due to many factors, the company told Trend.
"First, the increase in tourist arrivals increases energy consumption. Second, it has to do with growing needs of residential houses and offices (due to air conditioner use). The growth in number of electric vehicles also increases the overall electricity demand," said the company.
“Import of electricity isrealized from the Russia and Azerbaijan, and it depends on consumption," the company said.
JSC Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE) is an electricity transmission system operator. The company owns and operates 3,350 km transmission lines and 90 substations all over the country. Transmission network is managed by the National Dispatch Center and its technical maintenance is provided by the 3 regional networks (East, West and Kakheti). GSE also manages the cross-border transmission lines interconnecting with the neighboring countries: Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
GSE is a joint stock company owned by Partnership Fund, a state owned investment fund, while its management rights are transferred to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.