Russia has commenced humanitarian electricity supplies to the de facto republic of Abkhazia, as per an announcement made today, December 23, by the so-called Ministry of Energy. The occupied region is returning to a schedule of four-hour daily power outages.
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According to Temur Jinjolia, the general director of the company “Chernomorenergo,” the “social flow” of electricity from Russia was initially scheduled to begin in January. However, due to the difficult situation, Russia started the supply ahead of schedule, beginning at midnight on December 23.
“This is likely a social package of 327 million kWh,” Jinjolia stated, explaining that the approved amount of electricity should be sufficient for January and February under the four-hour outage schedule.
Jinjolia also noted that efforts to combat illegal mining would continue. He urged the population to conserve electricity as much as possible and to ensure timely payment for consumed electricity.
Abkhazia receives 40% of the electricity generated by Engurhesi annually. However, a deficit arises at the end of each year due to declining water levels in the Jvari Reservoir.
This year, to address the shortfall, the de facto government began purchasing electricity from Russia at commercial rates on November 1. At the same time, a four-hour daily power supply restriction was introduced.
On December 11, the Enguri HPP was shut down due to an emergency, which the Chernomorenergo company attributed to critically low water levels in the reservoir and insufficient water inflow. Since then, the population of the occupied region has had electricity for about three hours during the day, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Electricity supply from Russia was uninterrupted during the night, from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., as nighttime electricity is twice as cheap as daytime electricity.
Due to the electricity shortage, schools and kindergartens were closed, and hospitals were relying on generators for power.
On December 21, the so-called acting president of Abkhazia, Badra Gunba, appealed to the Russian Federation, calling it an “ally and strategic partner,” for humanitarian electricity supplies. Gunba stated that the 9-to-11-hour daily power outages were jeopardizing the functioning of the economy, healthcare, and vital support facilities, leaving Abkhazia unable to cope with the crisis independently in the short term. According to the acting president, Abkhazia was on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.
The worsening energy crisis in Abkhazia coincided with the November protests, which led the de facto parliament to refuse to ratify an investment agreement with Russia and forced President Aslan Bzhania to resign.
In previous years, the de facto Abkhazian authorities reached agreements with the Russian Federation, with the cost of electricity supplies covered by the Russian budget.
