The latest impact of Gavrilov’s visit to Georgia has fueled societal concerns about the economic consequences of deterioration in Russo-Georgian relations. For instance, due to the Russian government’s decision to cancel flights to Georgia, residents are beginning to worry about potentially adverse economic impacts on the tourism sector. ISET-PI has already discussed the expected impact of such a change, highlighting how these concerns might be unwarranted, as tourism accounts for 7.6% of the GDP, with Russian tourism contributing only 1.8% to the economy.

Looking at consumption and generation trends, it is evident that since August 2018 consumption typically exceeded generation. The negative generation-consumption gap also remained throughout April, amounting to 45 mln. kWh, with a total power generation of 966 mln. kWh and consumption of 1,012 mln. kWh. Yet why has the generation-consumption gap remained negative since August 2018? Should we also expect the negative gap to persist over the following months?

In May 2019, Georgian power plants generated 1,156 mln. kWh of electricity. This represents a 0.4% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (in 2018, total generation in May was 1,161 mln. kWh). The decrease in generation on a yearly basis comes from the decrease in thermal power generation (-99.8 %), more than offsetting the increase in hydro and wind power generation (+7% and 17% respectively).

News of the conflicts between the local population and the construction company involved in the construction of a small HPP in the Pankisi valley (Khadori 3) has recently made it into the headlines. Khadori is a small HPP with an installed capacity of 5.4 MW and an estimated annual generation of 27.5 mln. kWh. Construction of the Khadori 3 HPP started on 21 April, however, the local population resisted the project, and consequently, its company involved law enforcement officials to ensure its secure implementation.

In April 2019, Georgian power plants generated 966 mln. kWh of electricity. This represents a 9% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (in 2018, total generation in April was 1,064 mln. kWh). The decrease in generation on a yearly basis comes from the decrease in hydro and wind power generation (-21% and -27%), more than offsetting the increase in thermal power generation (+348%).