Electricity generation incentive schemes were discussed at the Business Association of Georgia
24 Jul '20
In the office of the Business Association of Georgia, with the participation of member companies, representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, a discussion was held on creating an incentive environment for the construction of electricity facilities, which is necessary to attract investment in this industry and ensure energy security.
Davit Tvalabeishvili, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, and Nikoloz Gagua, Deputy Minister of Finance were present at the meeting.Accordingly, member companies of the Association and stakeholders involved in the energy industry had the opportunity to present their views on the scheme of support for the production and use of energy from renewable sources approved by the Government of Georgia on July 2 (hydropower plants). In relation to this regulation, companies have expressed concern that the incentive electricity tariffs set forth in the regulation for certain categories of hydropower plants will not be sufficient to justify the economic viability of the project. There was also a desire to extend incentive schemes to power plants with a capacity of up to 5 MW. The construction of wind and solar power plants was also discussed, as the existing regulation regulates only the electricity tariffs to be purchased from hydropower plants.
For their part, the Georgian government officials stressed the fiscal risks posed by electricity procurement commitments in general and stressed the need to create the necessary optimal conditions when, on the one hand, security of electricity supply to consumers is maintained and, on the other hand, government budgets are not exceeded.
"Business Association of Georgia is always a bridge between business and government and, at the same time, is the best platform for such a dialogue. At today's meeting, we made sure that there are different views and opinions between the parties in the energy sector, therefore, I think it will be necessary to conduct a similar dialogue to bring the positions closer and find an optimal solution, "said Soso Pkhakadze, President of BAG.