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  • Tbilisi's energy crisis at an end?

    Messenger.ge, Georgia

    Friday, April 1, 2005, #059 (0833)

    Tbilisi's energy crisis at an end?

    RAO UES says Georgian capital will be fully supplied with electricity from
    Thursday; rejects attempts to create 'mistrust'
    By Christina Tashkevich

    RAO UES, which owns Tbilisi electricity distributor Telasi, announced on
    Wednesday that despite the fact that the Kavkasioni transmission line is
    still down, Tbilisi would be fully supplied with electricity as of March 31.

    "This was made possible by the coordinated efforts of Russian and Georgian
    power engineering specialists," said member of RAO UES' executive board
    Andrei Trapeznikov in a company statement.

    Georgia has been mostly in darkness for the last two weeks, with the regions
    receiving virtually no electricity and only parts of the capital being
    supplied on a regular basis.

    The crisis was triggered by avalanches in early March which damaged the
    Kavkasioni high-voltage transmission line supplying Georgia with
    Russian-imported electricity. The unexpected loss of imported electricity
    meant the water resources in Georgia's hydroelectric stations, including
    Enguri, were exhausted faster than expected, a situation exacerbated by the
    recent cold weather.

    While work on repairing Kavkasioni continues, RAO UES says engineers from
    both Russia and Georgia have been busy trying to maximize the potential of
    other energy sources, and that their efforts mean the whole of Tbilisi will
    now be supplied with electricity 24 hours a day.

    According to Telasi, the Alaverdi line is fully operational and is being
    maximally exploited, importing 160 megawatts of electricity from Armenia.
    The Salkhino line importing electricity from Russia via Abkhazia has also
    been connected during the crisis.

    The company supplying Tbilisi with energy reports further that the ninth
    block of Gardabani electric plant is working and producing 200 megawatts,
    while the recently rehabilitated third block is generating 100 megawatts.
    Meanwhile, it reports, Enguri hydroelectric station is managing to produce
    260 megawatts despite the low water level.

    "Specialists from the local electricity distribution company Telasi point
    out that as long as the work of generation and network equipment proceeds
    without accidents, they will be able to provide the city with energy at full
    capacity," said Trapeznikov.

    According to RAO UES, the restoration of the electricity supply from Russia
    to Georgia in full capacity via Kavkasioni line will be achieved in a very
    short period.

    He promised that the entities within the RAO UES holding company will do
    "everything possible to provide a reliable energy supply to Tbilisi."

    However, Trapeznikov stated that stability cannot be achieved in Georgia's
    energy system without serious technical re-equipment - the essential
    investment necessary to build new electricity lines connecting Georgia with
    Russia and to rehabilitate Enguri.

    "RAO UES is ready to participate in these projects," he says in the letter.

    Last week Minister of Energy Nika Gilauri stated that the government will
    make a final decision on the Enguri rehabilitation issue soon, adding that
    in the meantime the government would work according to a plan to provide
    Georgia with 24-hour electricity supply as of October 2006. The government
    will presumably make a decision regarding the rehabilitation of Enguri this
    week.

    The statement comes on the heels of comments by President Saakashvili on
    Tuesday that Georgia would never have reliable electricity as long as it was
    solely dependent on Russia.

    In its statement, RAO-UES stated they fully reject "any attempts to take
    advantage of the problems existing in the energy supply to Georgian
    consumers in a bid to produce an atmosphere of mutual distrust between the
    peoples of Russia and Georgia."
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