Economy Minister discusses energy sector development with professionals

Georgian Economy MInister Levan Davitashvili on Friday discussed development of the domestic energy sector, ongoing reforms projects and state support mechanisms in a meeting with representatives of the industry.

The Ministry of Economy said Davitashvili stressed the importance of “hearing relevant opinions” from the private sector and encouraged dialogue with them. 

The country's priority for energy has increased, which is evident from the one hundred megawatts of new installed capacity added to the energy system last year and this year. To ensure rapid economic growth, more local generation is needed, and the energy sector should be encouraged even more”, he said.

The official said the sector had played a “critically important role” for ensuring high economic growth over the recent years, and emphasised consumption had increased in proportion to the growth, creating need for more generation facilities.

According to our projection, the country will need up to 20 billion kilowatt-hours of energy consumption by 2030, which means significant capacity in terms of generation is required. Georgia has resources to get energy from green renewable sources, which is relevant to global trends and essential in the process of European integration”, he said.

The Minister also discussed the importance of strengthening the network alongside generation development, including by strengthening internal transmission infrastructure and developing cross-border transmission infrastructure. 

He said “direct connectivity with Europe” was a priority, and emphasised the Black Sea submarine cable project, a new transmission route to deliver green energy from the South Caucasus to Europe, for the purpose.