Page 59 - GEORptDec21

Margebadze complained about small hydropower plants facing public opposition and said that the risk of broken dams flooding villages is nonexistent. However, the green activists are pointing to other kinds of threats in the environmental sphere.
9.1.12 Utilities sector news
ADB approves $100mn electricity transmission loan for Georgia
Natural gas price hike in Tbilisi fuels Georgia’s problematic inflation
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on September 21 the approval of a $100mn policy-based loan to support Georgia’s electricity transmission sector.
The financial backing is intended for “improving the operational structure, corporate governance, and financial management of the country’s electricity transmission company and its subsidiary.”
The loan, part of the Electricity Transmission Sector Reforms Program, aims to support the Joint-Stock Company Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE) and its subsidiary EnergoTrans to reduce their dependency on government funding and external borrowing.
The disbursement comes some three weeks after the government of Georgia preemptively refused a EUR 75mn loan on “highly favorable” terms from the EU, citing its wish to reduce foreign debt and avoid “political insinuations.” The 27-member bloc tied the disbursement of the loan, supposed to help Georgia cover its immediate financing needs that have increased due to the coronavirus outbreak, to judiciary reform. The EU said after the government’s refusal that Georgia failed to meet the condition and would not be eligible for the loan anyway.
The natural gas price charged by Tbilisi Energy, the utility that delivers gas to Georgia’s capital city and surroundings, will increase by 17% to Georgian lari (GEL) 539 ($163) per thousand cubic metres with effect from June 1, as per a May 27 decision introduced by the Georgian National Energy Regulatory Commission (GNERC).
The move will further push up headline inflation, which in April stood at 7.2%, unchanged from March. Rising inflation has already forced the monetary authority to increase its key interest rate to 9.5%. The current gas tariff entered into force on January 1, 2020, and was meant to apply until the end of 2022. GNERC said that the hike was necessary to ensure a “safe and reliable” gas supply to the capital.
Tbilisi Energy requested the rate increase, citing a GEL25mn ($7.6mn) loss incurred over the past year and a half due to currency depreciation. The company said it has also asked to calculate the gas price in the national currency in the months ahead to “protect the population” against price increases in relation to exchange rate fluctuations.
Earlier, on January 3, the company's gas price was increased by 31% to GEL1,100 ($333) per thousand metres for commercial users.
Tbilisi Energy supplies gas to around 1.5mn people and 18,000 commercial users.
9.1.13 Defence sector news
PM Gharibashvili unveils Georgian-Israeli rifle production plant in Georgia
A joint Georgian-Israeli rifles production plant was launched in Georgia, with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili presenting the new facility for making carbines similar to the American M4.
Unveiling the factory a year after he initially revealed plans for it, Gharibashvili spoke to reporters. The Delta CCA Arms plant is a joint facility involving the
59 GEORGIA Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com