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Georgian state energy company to build third Gardabani thermal power station
seasonal production was minimal at this time, Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava said.
As for how Abkhazia will be supplied with electricity during this period, it has already been announced that the separatist region will receive imported electricity from Russia under bilateral agreements not involving Georgia. Director of Enguri HPP Levan Mebonia said that the renovation of the HPP had already begun, but the plan was to completely repair an essential tunnel, which required the closure of the HPP until the end of April.
Mebonia said that during the shutdown of the HPP, Georgia would lose more than 400mn kWh of electricity.
Renovation of the Inguri HPP tunnel was postponed three times: first, the repair was planned for 2018, then for 2019. The next deadline was set for March 2020.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) allocated a loan of €28mn for renovating the HPP in 2018. In addition, last year the EBRD allocated an additional €10mn.
State-owned Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation (GOGC) is to build a 272MW thermal power plant at an estimated cost of $174.8mn ($144.8mn), not including taxes.
GOGC will sign a contract with Turkish company Chalik Energy for the construction of the station, Business Media announced, quoting data from the state procurement agency.
According to the data available, the contract was awarded after a competitive procedure. From the minutes of the meeting of the tender commission of the corporation, it is seen that there were 18 international bidders, including Mistubishi, Tata Power Enka and Chalik Energy.
The new thermal power plant will be built on land owned by the company, near the existing thermal power plants Gardabani 1 and Gardabani 2. It is scheduled to be commissioned in 2023. Gardabani 1 was built by Chalik Energy for $230mn.
The construction of Gardabani Thermal Power Plant 2 began in 2018, with the corporation investing $180mn. The station was completed in 2019 and in March this year market regulator GNERC issued its licence. The general contractor for the oil and gas corporation in the project was Chinese company China Tianchen Engineering Corporation (TCC).
9.1.13 Utilities sector news
Delayed gas price hike for Georgian non-residential customers set to take effect
Tbilisi Energy, the natural gas supplier to Georgia’s capital city region, is to bring in a planned 28% price hike for non-residential customers except for bakeries, dated as having effect from February 1, after a one-month delay possibly explained by government intervention.
Georgia’s Economy Minister Natia Turnava announced back on December 17 that Tbilisi Energy, a private company, would not go ahead with the hike for non-residential users—a decision the company did not confirm at that time. The increase will take the gas price from Georgian lari (GEL) 0.84 to GEL1.1 per cubic metre (or $333 per 1,000 cubic metres), including VAT, as of February 1.
The price hike was prompted by the exchange rate situation and the need to repair the obsolete gas distribution network, according to a company press release.
Other gas distribution companies in the country might now follow the move. Tbilisi Energy explained that it has kept end-user prices steady despite the
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