GNERC ready to review the current tariffs
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday, November 19
The Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission is ready to review current tariffs together with the analysts and all interested parties. A statement concerning the issue was made by the commission on November 16.
According to the commission, Georgian media outlets are spreading “incomplete and misinterpreted” information regarding the commsion’s attitudes.
“It has been stated that the commission is categorically against of the reduction of tariffs, [but] we have never stated that a decrease in tariffs is impossible,” a commission statement reads.
The GNERC claims that the current tariffs are regulated through Georgian legislation and in the case that there are some changes in the law, the situation may be changed.
“Despite the current tariffs, the commission is ready to work on the issue concerning the tariffs,” the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission explained.
According to the Minister of Energy, Kakhi Kaladze, the ministry is launching action concerning the tariff reduction beginning Monday.
A meeting with INTER RAO representatives is scheduled as well and a decrease in tariffs will be one of the topics of the meeting, according to Kaladze.
“Our country urgently requires Russian import of electro-energy from January, and we are ready to collaborate with INTER RAO concerning the issue,” Kaladze stated.
Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Giorgi Kvirikashvili held a meting with a governmental delegation from Kazakhstan. One of the issues of the meeting was natural gas provision and its associated financial.
Kvirikashvili believes that if there is an appropriate business environment and a transparent regulatory commission in the country, positive goals will easily be achieved in the decrease of tariffs.
A decrease in tariffs is one of the more important issues the Georgian population is waiting for the new government to address. The Georgian Dream coalition promised the population during their election campaign that the tariffs would be reduced. Ivanishvili stated that there are companies on the Georgian market which “artificially increase” the tariffs.
However, the decrease in tariffs remains problematic. From a legal point of view, the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission is the only body that can undertake changes in this regard. The commission had earlier stated that a change in tariffs was unlikely, as Georgia boasts the lowest tariffs compared with other European states and the tariffs are agreed upon via legislation.
The current opposition believes that the Georgian Dream will not be able to keep most of their campaign promises, as the new government has no real calculations or a deep understanding of the country’s most important issues.
According to analyst Davit Ebralizde, the tariff policy of the previous government was wrong. Ebralidze emphasized that the former government wanted to export all electro-energy.
“There are countries that can only dream about such resources in this regard. We can have very cheap electro-energy,” Ebralizde stated.