AYFB - Reform Ended in Failure, Energy Exchange won't be Launched on July 1
Non-governmental organization - The Association of Young Financiers and Businessmen calls on the Chairman of Parliament of Georgia to schedule a parliamentary hearing in order to examine the reasons for the inactivity within the timeframe set by the Georgian Energy Exchange.
A statement issued by AYFB addresses the matters of significant lack of success in terms of energy development.
"The society interested in the current situation and development process in the energy sector awaits for the first July of 2021 when the Georgian Energy Exchange should be launched. Analysts and industry experts expect significant positive impulses from this reform: to create a healthy competitive environment in the electricity trading market, and therefore to establish fair pricing and minimize corruption.
AYFB actively examines current processes in the energy sector, including the matters related to launching Georgian Energy Exchange. From the above-mentioned examination, we can say, that despite a large timeframe set for creating a reform (In particular, reform preparatory groups have been working on the issue for 3 years, and it has been more than a year since the establishment of the Georgian Energy Exchange), they were unable to manage the stages of the reform. Therefore, independently, or with the participation of the state in any way, the reform was not prepared in time.
Unfortunately, we can say with regret that this reform of great significance for the Association Agreement of the EU will not be able to meet the deadlines. The management of Georgian Energy Exchange, as well as ESCO (Electricity System Commercial Operator) and GSE (Georgian State ElectroSystem), which are the founders of Georgian Energy Exchange, are responsible for all this. The leadership in the field of economy and energy will have to share this responsibility.
It is clear, that the development of the sector, including the projects of constructing renewable energy stations and high voltage transmission lines, activating the Energy Exchange, has been delayed or disrupted with the inaction of full vertical of industry leadership.
Unfortunately, what is happening now is not unexpected for AYFB since it is clear to us, that in an area where transparency is at stake and public accountability is dramatically declined, these facts will remain in the same manner.
We wish to remind you, that only in the last few months, both the organizations, ESCO and GSE did not respond to our questions - why do not they publish importing electricity tariffs, or contract price, and what is the situation in the specific energy infrastructure projects supported by international financial institutions.
We also want to point out the fact, that Prosecutor's Office of Georgia is interested in the activities of GSE, which raises suspicions that the company is involved in illegal activities or alleged corrupton. Our organization has stated several times, that establishing a standard of awareness on ongoing processes in this field is of great interest to the country.
It is difficult to say what we are dealing with in this particular case of the failure of the Energy Exchange reform - unprofessionalism, indifference to the work, incompetence, or some other serious matters. However, it is highly probable, that the announced opening date for Energy Exchange will be rescheduled for many months.
It has been postponed already for the second time and no officials have been held accountable for this failure, which raises suspicions.
We call on Mr, Kakha Kuchava, Chairman of Parliament of Georgia, to ensure an open and public parliamentary hearing to determine the reasons for the factual lack of success of Energy Exchange reform, where the management of exchange, as well as the representatives of GSE and ESCO will be presented.
We believe, that the particular reasons can only be revealed in an open and public discussion, which would answer the question of why does every important energetical project or reform end in failure.", the AYFB announces.