Electricity in Figures – Georgia and the World
An annual 15 billion tons of fuel are spent on electricity generation across the world. The total power of all electricity stations worldwide exceeds 2.067 trillion watts, and the hourly rate of generation is 18138.3 trillion watts.
According to UN statistics, 60% of world electricity is generated by steam power plants. Hydro power plants produce only 20% of world electricity, and nuclear power plants generate only 17%. Wind, solar and other power plants generate only 3% of the world’s electricity. The USA is reported to be the largest electricity producing country, with 3600 billion kw/h, while Japan ranks second with 930 billion kw/h, and China comes third with 900 billion kw/h, Russia is fourth with 845 billion kw/h, and France is fifth with 500 billion kw/h.
65% of global electricity is generated by the developed countries, 22% - by developing economies and developed economies generate only 13%.
The annual investment inflow to the power sector is about 100 billion USD.
According to International Energy Agency (IEA), electricity consumption in 2018 rose by 2.3% across the world. Electricity consumption is growing in Georgia, too. According to the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC), over the past few years, Georgia’s electricity consumption used to grow by 5% on average, but, compared to 2017, in 2018 growth constituted 8%. According to forecasts by specialists, electricity consumption will grow to 23 billion kw/h by 2030.
According to the Electricity Market Operator, in 2018 Georgia-based power facilities generated 12148.6 million kw/h electricity, while the supply to the network constituted 13455.9 million kw/h. The difference between power generation and power supply was replenished through electricity imports. As a result, electricity imports as a part of total supply constituted 10%. Year on year growth in electricity imports is recorded in 2019, as well.
According to ESCO, in April 2019, Georgia bought 80.840 million kw/h, up 7.2 percent compared to the same period in 2018 (11.216 million kw/h).
In whole, in January-April 2019, Georgia purchased 613.9 million kw/h of electricity, up from 541.998 million kw/h in the same period of 2018. As a result, electricity imports have increased by 21% year on year.
In 2018, Georgia purchased electricity worth 75 million USD. According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Georgia, the figure will rise to 141 million USD in 2019.
Unlike imports, Georgia’s electricity exports are decreasing. In April 2018 Georgia exported 62 million kw/h, but the figure declined to 38 million kw/h in April 2019.
As for the price of electricity for citizens, the lowest prices in Post-Soviet countries in 2018 was recorded in Turkmenistan: 0.01 USD per kw/h. The figure is at 0.02 USD in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, 0.05 USD in Ukraine and Azerbaijan, 0.06 USD in Belarus, 0.07 USD in Kazakhstan. For comparison, the electricity tariff per kw/h in the USA is at 0.013 USD. The highest tariffs are recorded in Germany and Denmark – 0.38 USD per kw/h.