BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 11
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgia successfully completed the third phase of the Energy Sector Reform Program, Trend reports referring to the European Union (EU).
The program envisages financial support to the energy sector reform of Georgia, jointly financed by Policy-Based Loans (PBL) from German Development Bank (KfW) and French Development Agency (AFD), as well as a grant from the EU to support the implementation of the Energy Efficiency measures of the program.
Two defined directions of the program include regional integration of the energy market in compliance with Energy Community (EnC) treaty to strengthen Georgia’s position as a regional energy hub and Energy Efficiency (especially in buildings), the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP, released 2017) and the definition and implementation of respective Energy Efficiency Standards.
On May 28, 2020 the Minister of Finance of Georgia Ivane Matchavariani and KfW Development Bank’s regional Director of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia Olaf Zymelka signed a loan agreement of 90 million euros for the support of Georgia’s energy sector reform. A second loan agreement worth of 120 million euros was signed on May 22 by Matchavariani and French Ambassador in Georgia, Diego Colas, and AFD’s Director of the regional office for the South Caucasus Gaelle Assayag.
Continued support to the sector reform has been ensured by the government of Germany through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and of France via the AFD.
The EU grant support of 8.44 million euros under EU’s Neighborhood Investment Platform (NIP), provided to the Georgian Government and administered by KfW will facilitate the elaboration of the secondary Energy Efficiency legislation in 2020-2021. It aims to promote Energy Efficiency especially in the building sector in addition to the market reform measures to support moving Georgia from a centralized electricity market to an organized market as envisaged by EU’s Third Energy Package.
On June 2, the Program Steering committee of the Energy Sector Reform Program came to the conclusion that the Sector Reform showed sufficient performance to make available the financial resources mentioned above. Key achievements were the recent adoption of a comprehensive law package to enforce Energy Efficiency in buildings and of a modern market concept for Georgia’s electricity market of the future.
Furthermore, to kick-start the sector development for Energy Efficiency in buildings and to support the implementation of EU-Energy Efficiency standards in Georgia, Germany also provided additional grant funding in the amount of 7.4 million euros for investments into Energy Efficiency Measures in social infrastructure in Batumi. In addition, KfW is preparing a school Energy Efficiency rehabilitation investment program for Georgia with the support of EU and German Government.
KfW Development Bank is one of the leading financiers of development in Georgia and in the Caucasus Region. The aim of KfW´s work on behalf of the German Government is to assist in improving economic and social conditions in Georgia and the other countries of the South Caucasus.
AFD is the main actor of France’s development policy. AFD finances energy, health, biodiversity, water, transport and urban development, digital technologies, training sectors and supports the transition to a safer, more equitable and more sustainable world.
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