An accident at the Inguri hydroelectric power station left part of Tbilisi and Georgian regions without electricity for several hours on the evening of May 24.
The State Electric System of Georgia notes that the supply of electricity to Tbilisi has already been fully restored, and the process of the regions interconnection was carried out in stages, due to the reserve in the system and imports.
As for the electricity deficit, Georgia had to urgently start importing electricity from three neighboring countries, the First TV Channel reported. Currently, electricity is supplied to Georgia from Turkey - 300 megawatts, from Armenia - 101 megawatts and from Russia - 14 megawatts.
Technical director of the station Gia Khubua said that the problem arose from the turbine of one of the units.
"One of the pipes was damaged. The unit itself did not suffer as a result of the incident. The personnel of the station did not suffer either. The breakage place was flooded and water must be pumped out for its liquidation," he said. At the same time, he did not specify when the plant would return to normal operation.
The Inguri HPP is the largest hydroelectric power plant in the South Caucasus with an installed capacity of 1,300 MW; its generators are located in the territory of Abkhazia, while the arched dam is on the Georgian side. The arched dam of the Inguri hydroelectric power plant, whose total height is 271.5 meters, and the length of 728 meters, was granted the status of a cultural heritage monument in 2015 with the aim of its further development.
According to an informal agreement between Tbilisi and Sukhumi, 40% of the Inguri HPP generated electricity is received by Abkhazia, and 60% by Georgia. The implementation of the Inguri hydroelectric power plant rehabilitation project is planned for 2018-2021. Scheduled repairs to the hydropower plant should be carried out every five years. However, the HPP has not been repaired since 2006 - at that time the hydroelectric power station suspended electricity production for two months.
