Page 45 - bne IntelliNews George country report Sept 2017

increase in the price of electricity or the depreciation of the lari, and promised Telasi full compensation from the State in the event of adverse legislative change,” Inter RAO said in a statement.
“As with Gardabani, regulatory change in 2014 had a direct and substantial negative effect on the value of Silk Road’s investment in Telasi. The distribution tariff under the new regulations decreased in both 2015 and 2016. In addition, the Georgian authorities interfered with Telasi’s purchase of electricity, in particular making the company buy electricity from a state-owned company at a price nearly ten times higher than the price charged by a private producer. As a result of Georgia’s wrongful conduct, the value of Khrami HPP-1, Khrami HPP-2 and Telasi has been seriously impaired, and Gardabani and Silk Road are entitled to full compensation for the damage caused,” the statement said.
Earlier in August the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC) was meant to discuss Telasi’s application for a tariffs review, but it failed as the Georgian Labour party blocked the meeting and the police had to be called.
9.1.7 Renewable energy sector news
The Georgian government is seeking to list shares in the country's first wind farm on the local stock exchange, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said during a parliamentary session on June 22.
Ownership schemes for renewable energy projects have been found to influence their level of acceptability to the public. Georgia has recently begun to tap into its wind power potential by developing the 20 megawatt (MW) Kartli wind farm, which opened in October 2016. The country is a net energy importer and depends on its neighbour Azerbaijan for gas and oil.
Increasing imports of fossil fuels from other countries, such as Russia, has resulted in a public backlash, because Russia is an unpopular trade partner in Georgia.
The organisation that developed the farm, Georgian Energy Development Fund, is now looking for an investor to build a 150 MW plant in western Georgia.
According to Kvirikashvili, the decision to list shares in the wind farm will support the development of the stock exchange and would give Georgians "a sense of involvement in those important projects that we have been implementing".
45 GEORGIA Country Report September 2017 www.intellinews.com