TBILISI, October 1 – Georgia’s state-owned Enguri hydropower plant lost 45 million lari (about 16 million US dollars) in revenue last year by supplying free electricity to residents of Abkhazia, according to a Finance Ministry report attached to the draft 2026 state budget.
The losses are not new. In 2023, the figure reached 40 million lari. The report said Enguri delivered 1.48 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to Abkhazia in 2024. During winter months, output was insufficient to cover demand, forcing Georgia to import an additional 353.6 million kilowatt-hours from Russia. Altogether, Abkhazia received 1.84 billion kilowatt-hours of power last year.
The ministry noted that without this so-called quasi-fiscal activity, Enguri’s net profit would have been 44 million lari. Instead, the company finished 2024 with just 1 million lari in profit.
The Enguri facility, which includes one of the world’s highest arch dams, is located in western Georgia and straddles the administrative boundary line with Abkhazia, a region outside Tbilisi’s control since the early 1990s. Electricity generated there is shared across both sides of the conflict divide, making the dam one of the few ongoing points of cooperation.
