PM Convenes Energy Council to Discuss Gas Price Hike
Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 2 Nov.'06 / 19:20

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said at the session of the government’s energy council on November 2 that the authorities should intensify talks with Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran to diversify energy supplies. He also said that Georgia should immediately launch construction of two new hydro power plants.

The Prime Minister convened a session of the government’s energy council after the news broke on November 2 that Gazprom plans to increase gas prices for Georgia in 2007 from the current USD 110 to USD 230 per 1000 cubic meters of gas.

PM Nogaideli said that it is “a political price.”

He instructed the Energy Ministry “to support” gas distributing companies in Georgia in holding talks with Gazprom in order “to achieve as acceptable a price as possible for these companies and for consumers.”

Nogaideli also said that the second key priority is the construction of hydroelectric power plants in the country, “to ensure that Georgia is less dependent on imported electricity.”

“You remember that in the beginning of 2006 the President instructed us to construct hydroelectric power plants. So today we will make a commitment to launch the construction of two new hydroelectric power plants in Georgia, in Paravani and Gudauri,” Nogaideli said.

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