Halving of tariff for household electricity and gas consumption will be impossible, but it will be reduce at least by 10% next year, PM Bidzina Ivanishvili said on November 28.

Reduction in utility fees was among Georgian Dream’s pre-election promises.

Although halving of tariffs was not part of the Georgian Dream’s pre-election program, “we have been talking about it during discussions and possibly it was an exaggeration”, the Prime Minister told journalists after a government session.

“I’ve been working on it a lot and I think that although there will be no halving, tariffs will go down by at least 10% or possibly even more,” Ivanishvili said, adding that reduction of tariffs would take place “in the best case from the New Year or later.”

He said that government was still studying the mechanism through which it would be possible to reduce the tariffs.

Households in Tbilisi pay 50.62 tetri per cubic meter of gas. Tariffs are different in the various provinces.

A three-step electricity tariff scheme is in force in Georgia since 2006 and rates are different for consumers in Tbilisi and in provinces.

Those households of Tbilisi who consume less than 100 kilowatts of electricity per month pay 13.48 Tetri (approximately 8.1 cents) per kilowatt. Consumers using between 101 to 300 kilowatts per month pay 16 tetri (approximately 9.6 cents) and households consuming more than 301 kilowatts per month pay 17.69 tetri (about 10.6 cents).

Households in the provinces, who use less than 100 kilowatt per month, pay 12.98 tetri (approximately 7.8 cents). This first step tariff also applies to those households in the provinces, who have no individual meters and are connected to common meters. Residents in the country's regions who consume between 101 and 300 kilowatts pay 16.52 tetri (about 9.9 cents) and residents in the regions who consuming more than 301 kilowatts per month pay 17.5 tetri (approximately 10.5 cents).

Electricity distributor in the capital city is Telasi – company in which 75% of shares is owned by the Netherlands-registered Silk Road Holdings B.V., which is wholly owned by Russia’s state-controlled power trader Inter RAO.

24.53% of Telasi stakes is owned by the Georgian state.

Energy Minister, Kakha Khaladze, said that a delegation from Inter RAO would visit Georgia this week and among other issues he would discuss electricity tariffs.

Energo-Pro Georgia, a local subsidiary of the Czech company Energo-Pro, distributes electricity to about 864,000 customers outside Tbilisi.