Adjar Energy 2007 finished construction of run-of-river Kirnati HPP with installed capacity of 51.3MW, and projected annual generation of 226GWh. The HPP currently operates in test regime and expected to move to full capacity by September 2018. In addition to above mentioned HPP, there are three other small HPPs already commissioned in 2018: 1) Kasleti HPP – 9.0 MW, 2) Kheori HPP – 1.3MW and 3) Shilda 1 HPP – 1.2MW. Total capacity of these four HPPs is 63MW. As of July 2018, there are 80 operational HPPs in Georgia. Out of these, 57 are small HPPs (capacity below 13.0 MW) and 4.6% (190.1 MW) of combined installed capacity.
Domestic electricity consumption increased 12.6% y/y in June 2018 and 8.4% y/y in 1H18. The eligible consumers and distribution licensees drove this growth. Eligible consumers’ increased their consumption by 34.7% y/y, accounting for 18.0% of total domestic consumption. This growth can be explained by addition of 2 new companies (GFDC Georgia and Geo Servers) to the group of eligible consumers. This was in line with legal changes effective since May 2018 as their average monthly consumption of electricity was above 15MWh. Consumption by distribution licensees was up by 10.2% y/y in June 2018, as consumption of new commercial subscribers fully compensated the reduced consumption caused by reallocation of 2 above mentioned large companies into different category.
Electricity exports were down 15.4% y/y in June 2018, while exports were up 5.8% y/y in 1H18. Electricity exports accounted for 16.0% of electricity supplied to the grid in June 2018. A 78.6% out of 194.6MWh total exports were directed to Turkey (+134.6% y/y), while the rest was exported to Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in June 2018. A 76.2% of electricity export to Turkey was conducted by ESCO in exchange of electricity imports planned during October- December 2018.
Electricity generated by domestic sources increased by 6.2% y/y in June 2018 and by 14.8% in 1H18. Hydro generation (+6.4% y/y in June 2018) drove the domestic supply growth supported by good hydrological conditions and commissioning of new HPPs. Enguri/Vardnili generation was up by 16.7% y/y and satisfied lions share (56.5%) of electricity demand in June 2018. In 1H18 generation of Enguri/Vardnili increased by 30.5% y/y and reached 2.3TWh, highest number since 2010. Thermal generation and imports accounted for 0.8% of total electricity supply and were intended only for system’s balancing and stability purposes.
