In June 2020, Georgian power plants generated 999 mln. kWh of electricity. This represents a 16.6% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (June 2019, the total generation was 1,198 mln. kWh). The decrease in generation on a yearly basis comes from the decrease of 16% in hydro power generation and more than seven-fold decrease in thermal power generation offsetting an increase in wind power generation (+21% compared to June 2019), which remains however below 1% of total generation.

In May 2020, Georgian power plants generated 986 mln. kWh of electricity. This represents a 15% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (May 2019, the total generation was 1,156 mln. kWh). The decrease in generation on a yearly basis comes from the decrease of 16% in hydropower generation more than offsetting an increase in thermal and wind power generation, high in percentage terms (+34% and + 500%, respectively) but low in absolute terms.

In April 2020, total generation and consumption nearly balanced (944 mln kWh of generation and 941 mln kWh of consumption), with power generation exceeding consumption by only 3 mln. kWh (corresponding to 0.3% of total generation: Figure 1). This occurred due to the simultaneous decrease in total consumption (7%) and total generation (2%). Interestingly, over the same period, wind power generation increased by a remarkable 23% compared to April 2019.

In April 2020, Georgian power plants generated 944 mln. kWh of electricity. This represents a 2% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (April 2019, the total generation was 966 mln. kWh). The decrease in generation on a yearly basis comes from the decrease of 6% in thermal and 2% in hydro power generation. Interestingly, on a yearly basis, wind power generation increased by remarkable 23% compared to April 2019.

The consequences of COVID-19 on tourism and in the industrial and service sectors have been discussed broadly recently. However, little has been said about the current and future implications on the Georgian power sector. The worldwide pandemic has already had and is still expected to have, quite significant implications on both the demand and supply sides of the electricity market. Although at this stage, we cannot estimate the exact scale of the effects, it is possible to represent a general theoretical framework of the existing and potential impacts.