Mission Statement

We seek the advancement of the sustainable development of hydropower in Georgia through direct investments in regional climate-friendly, renewable and reliable energy projects that serve national and international environmental, energy and economic policy objectives.

Our goal is to not only be an exceptionally well run energy company but to be able to provide our energy customers with the cleanest energy possible. We seek to accomplish this through transparency in our ecological and corporate practices and maintaining a company wide passion for sustainability.

Useful Information

Hydroelectric power has become the primary source of power in Georgia, in 2016 it provided for 81% of Georgia’s total electricity, with 9.3 TWh output. Since 2008 Georgia’s electric consumption grew around 40% to over 11 TWH, which is largely in line with GDP growth, most of it provided by new hydro-electric capacity via new investment.

The government of Georgia has created a legislative initiative to facilitate the sustainable development of Georgia’s renewable energy. This legislative tool regulates the proceeds and rules for the construction, ownership and operations of power plants in Georgia and is regulated by the Ministry of Energy of Georgia.

The electricity market in Georgia has been set up as a bilateral contracts market with multiple buyers and sellers at the wholesale level, combined with an independent regulator (GNERC) which establishes tariffs for end-users and for monopoly services like transmission and distribution.

Electricity market participants in Georgia are the producers (now almost entirely hydroelectric and thermal power plants), consumers, importers, exporters, distribution companies, the Electric System Commerce Operator (ESCO), the transmission companies, the dispatch licensee and the regulator.

The ESCO—a state-owned enterprise—is responsible for balancing, including emergency export/import and exports of surplus power not sold through bilateral contracts. Though it does not have a license from the regulator, the fee it charges for its services is regulated by the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commision (GNERC).

The Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE), which holds a transmission and a dispatch license, collects dispatch and transmission tariffs set by the GNERC for provided services. Electricity in Georgia is mainly produced by hydroelectric power plants and thermal power plants (TPP).

Only existing plants in excess of 40 MW continue to be price-regulated by GNERC. New generating plants and existing generating plants under 40 MW are not subject to tariff regulation by GNERC, instead prices are established through bilateral contracts and whatever is consumed—but not traded through bilateral contracts—is traded by ESCO as defined by Market Rules.

There are two high voltage transmission companies in Georgia. GSE owns and operates 330, 220 and 110 kV lines (along with some 35 kV lines) and high voltage substations, including the 500 kV substation, and also holds the license for the Dispatch Centre. JSC Sakrusenergo, which is owned 50% by the state and 50% by RAO UES, operates 500 kV line, which transports electricity from the generation centres to the main load centres in the East.

Three distribution companies supply customers at voltage levels between 110 kV down to 0.4 kV. Except for Enghuri and Vardnili HEPPs, all generating stations in Georgia have been privatised, as have the distribution companies. The two HEPPs left in government ownership are under management contracts with the private investors.