In December 2017, Georgian power plants generated 1,080 mln. KWh of electricity. This corresponds to a 9% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (in 2016, total generation in December was 1,186 mln. kWh). The source of a decline in generation on a yearly basis is less thermal power generation.

In recent times, the world has experienced an exponential increase in solar-powered generating capacity, especially in emerging markets such as China and India. The reasons for this rapid development exist due to low-priced equipment and improved technologies now reaching millions of people. As reported by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, solar capacity grew by 54% year-on-year, and over a three-year period, it has more than tripled.

The second presentation of the Policy Seminar Series took place on December 6, 2017. This time, Davit Hovhannisyan and Anahit Sargsyan – under the supervision of Karine Torosyan, a member of the resident faculty of ISET – led the presentation with a paper entitled “Labor Migration from Armenia and Georgia: Why Russia?”.

In November 2017, Georgian power plants generated 968 mln. KWh of electricity. This corresponds to a 3% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (in 2017, total generation in November was 998 mln. kWh). The decline in generation on a yearly basis comes from a decline in thermal power generation.

In the last two weeks of November, ISET’s Retail Food Price Index showed a significant, 10.8% y/y increase (compared to November 2016). On a monthly basis (compared to October 2017), food prices in Tbilisi’s major supermarkets increased slightly by 0.9%. We recorded the biggest bi-weekly price increases for eggplant (41.2%), cucumbers (20.5%), and onions (16.3%).