Georgia paid $75 millionto import electricity in 2018. This is a record sum of money, and allowed the country to purchase1, 508,820,928 kWh of energy. The imported energy accounted for 12% of total electricity consumption in 2018.
The Ministry of Economy expects the volume of imports to increase by a further 88% in 2019. Based on the forecast of the 2019 electricity balance, this year the volume of imports will reach the 2,820,500,000 kWh mark. The cost, under the existing terms, will reach $141 million.
During the past 10 years, Georgia went from a net exporter of electricity to a net importer. According to data from the Electricity System Commercial Operator (ESCO), total electricity production in Georgia is lower than the volume of consumed energy.
At the present rate of electricity consumption, and in the absence of any new energy projects in the country; Georgia will have to import almost half of its electricity in the next 10 years, and it is of course impossible to predict what the import price will be. However, should all the planned energy projects be competed and the growth rate of electricity consumption limited to 4.6%, then Georgia can once again become a net exporter of electricity by 2023-2024.
