Georgia moved up 8 spots to #62 (out of 189) in the Getting Electricity ranking of the 2016 Doing Business report. Ease of electricity access is essential for the country’s investment potential. Georgia ranks ahead of most of its peers (Belarus, Armenia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Romania), being second only to Turkey (36/189), and beats the regional average of 94 by 32 spots. According to the report, progress was achieved by simplifying electricity network access for new customers, reducing connection fees, and adopting a grid code. The report indicates that it takes a business on average 4 procedures and 71 days to be granted access to electricity; Georgia outperforms its peers (ex-Turkey) on both of those metrics. Connection to the network is still costly compared to peers, when measured in terms of per capita income (461.8% of income/capita).
Coal is added to the energy balance of Georgia. A thermal power station (TPS) in Tkibuli, western Georgia, with installed capacity of 13.2MW, commenced operations in test mode. The station, commissioned in 2011, was built by Georgian Industrial Group (GIG) and operates on locally mined coal, contributing to the economic activity of Tkibuli. GIG also signed an implementation agreement with the government in October 2015 for the construction of a 150MW coal-fired TPS in Tkibuli, also to use 100% local coal. The investment value of the project is estimated at US$ 150-200mn, according to the Ministry of Energy (MoE). The coal-fired TPS is expected to displace a significant portion of the natural gas-fueled TPP generation, supplying cheaper electricity to the market. Construction of the power station is expected to commence in 2016 and be completed by 2019. Construction will be handled by the Chinese state-controlled Dongfang Electric Holding.
An additional 111MW of installed capacity is expected to hit the grid this year, with Dariali HPP (108MW) and Debeda HPP (3MW) expected to be commissioned by the end of 2015. Dariali HPP was partly financed by EBRD, with a US$ 80mn loan, and was the first public-private partnership in the energy sector. Expected output of the two plants is 526gWh (6.4% of current hydro output).
