BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 9
By Tamilla Mammadova - Trend:
In the first quarter 2020, the share of electricity import was 12-15 percent in Georgia, said Nugzar Beridze, Director of the Electricity Department of the Georgian National Energy Regulatory Commission (GNERC), Trend reports via Georgian media.
According to him, the main importing countries are Russia and Azerbaijan.
"In the first quarter of 2020, consumption of electricity has not decreased significantly. The main focus was on household consumption. We must remember that there was electricity shortage in the first quarter and it was mostly covered by imports. We also had gas shortage, so importing electricity in the first quarter was essential," he said.
According to Beridze, the increase in imports in the first quarter of 2020 was mainly due to increased consumption in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
He went on to add that thermal power plants account for about 20 percent of the total electricity generation, while up to 80 percent accounts for hydropower generation.
"We have a wind power plant in Gori with a capacity of 20.3 mega-watt. The Gardabani 2 thermal power plant, which has a high efficiency coefficient, has been put into operation this year, but hydropower plants remain the most important source of our electricity generation," Beridze said.
"We need to develop sources of electricity generation because consumption is increasing and local sources can no longer cover the demand," Beridze noted.
As for hydro power plants, he noted that in this regard, sharing the experience of Norway will certainly be useful for Georgia.
"They have fully taken advantage of the hydro resources, while we use only 20 percent. Sharing the experience of Norway as one of the most powerful energy countries in Europe will definitely help us," he said.
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