David Narmania: The Goal of GNERC is to Protect Consumers and Ensure Quality Utility Services
David Narmania, the Chairman of the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC), presented at the III International Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection. He discussed the mechanisms implemented by GNERC to enhance consumer rights and foster competition in regulated sectors.
From November 20-22, in Tbilisi, the III International Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection is being held, organized jointly by five regulatory agencies: GNERC, the Competition and Consumer Protection Agency, the National Bank of Georgia, the State Insurance Supervision Service, and the Communications Commission. Its aim is to strengthen competition policy in Georgia and improve mechanisms for protecting consumer rights.
During his address, Chairman Narmania emphasized the significance of the conference, which has been held annually for three years under the auspices of these five regulatory bodies. He highlighted GNERC's effectiveness as an independent regulatory commission in safeguarding consumer rights and facilitating the liberalization of energy markets.
“GNERC's goal is to protect consumers and ensure quality utility services. We continuously monitor company activities and respond to every violation.
The regulations governing consumer rights in electricity, natural gas, water supply, and amelioration sectors fully reflect the needs essential for protecting consumer rights. The regulatory commission observes in real-time the relationships between consumers and utility companies. We see where achievements have been made and where challenges remain. Since 2017, based on GNERC decisions, companies have paid over 16 million GEL in compensation to citizens. We are systematically working on offering improved and simplified services for consumers.
Notably, this includes the transfer of utility services to Public Service Halls, as well as the USSD code *303#. Recently, we introduced a completely new regulation aimed at promoting central heating systems and the use of renewable energy in multi-apartment buildings. Additionally, we are working to implement artificial intelligence in the call centers of utility companies in test mode in the near future, which will minimize wait times and allow citizens to receive the information they need about service interruptions in the shortest possible time," - stated David Narmania.
The conference included participation from leaders of competition and consumer protection agencies from various countries, representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) of the European Commission, the Directorate-General for Justice (DG JUSTICE) of the European Commission, and the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), as well as local and international experts from public institutions, regulatory bodies, academia, and the business sector.