Electricity is never free, someone always pays for it, said Deputy Prime Minister of Abkhazia, Minister of Energy and Transport Jansukh Nanba, commenting on the issues of energy supply to the republic.
“The social flow to Abkhazia is a free flow provided by Russia. But it is paid from the budget of the Russian Federation and this has been happening for many years.” – Nanba told Abkhazian television.
In 2024, the social flow was 302 million kW/h. In 2025, the planned flow will be 326 million kW/h. And we really hope that from the beginning of 2025 we will have the opportunity to receive this social influx, Nanba noted.
The only Russian company authorized to export electricity to other countries is Inter RAO; the Abkhazian company Chernomorenergo has an official contract with it.
As for the cost of the trade flow, the deputy prime minister said that this year it will be about 4 rubles per 1 kW/h.
“If we compare it with the Krasnodar Territory, prices for private consumption vary from 4 to 8 rubles, depending on the time of day. Our rates for individuals are 1.40 rubles, for legal entities – 2.40 rubles. “We are forced to buy electricity for 4 rubles, while we sell it for an average of 2 rubles, and of those 2 rubles we collect 45%.” – Nanba stated.
In 2023, Abkhazia consumed 2,643 million kWh. This year it is expected to reach a figure of 2.2 – 2.1 billion kWh. The Deputy Prime Minister noted that since 2020 there has been a significant increase in electricity consumption. The peak of consumption occurred in 2022: 2 thousand 946 million rubles.
As reported EADailySince the beginning of November, a four-hour rolling blackout schedule has been introduced in Abkhazia. At the same time, the flow of electricity from Russia to Abkhazia at commercial prices began.
The electricity deficit in Abkhazia currently amounts to 260 million kW/h. In November, consumption will be 60 million kW/h, in December, 120 million kW/h.
Dzhansukh Nanba mentioned the three most important problems of the energy industry: the shortage of electricity, the difficult situation of the electricity sector as a whole and financial discipline.
“The main generating station in Abkhazia is the Inguri hydroelectric power station complex. It is a complex hydroelectric plant built in Soviet times and in its own way is a unique facility. Hydroelectric power, as everyone knows, depends on water. Taking into account our geographical characteristics, we have a marked seasonality in the supply of water to the Dzhvar and Gal reservoirs. Unfortunately, it is already becoming a tradition that for the last 15 years, during the autumn-winter period, we suffer a shortage of water in the Jvar reservoir, which causes a decrease in generation volumes, thus creating a deficit that need. to cover from other sources. In this case we resort to cross-flow from the Russian Federation.” – Nanba explained.
The Russian Federation has supported Abkhazia on this issue throughout the period.
“There is a roadmap for optimizing Abkhazia’s energy system, which sets out the corresponding volumes of electricity that we get for free. This is the so-called social flow, but, unfortunately, it is not enough and we have to acquire the commercial flow on market conditions. Therefore, the number one problem is the lack of water resources necessary to generate a sufficient amount of generation.” – Nanba said.
More than 80% of electrical equipment is practically in poor condition, which causes a high percentage of electricity losses.
“According to operational data, during the current year the losses in our systems range between 25 and 27%. This is a colossal level of losses which, if converted into kilowatts, turns out to be around 640 million kW/h. And this is almost the same volume that is needed to cover our deficit.” – said the Deputy Prime Minister.
The level of collection of electricity rates based on the results of 10 months is 45%. The population, legal entities and all subscribers of Abkhazia pay on average 45%, Nanba said.
