Energy prices will roughly double in Russian-occupied Abkhazia starting July 1, 2022. The prices – differentiated for 10 types of consumer categories — are set to increase each year, through 2026.
With the price hike, the Abkhaz authorities are seemingly aiming to reduce the excess power consumption, which led to frequent outages and rolling power cuts in recent years in the region.
Abkhazia’s troubled energy system fully relies on free power from the jointly operated Enguri HPP, shared by Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia.
According to the informal agreement between Tbilisi and Sokhumi reached in 1997, the region receives 40 percent of the electricity generated by the Enguri HPP, however, Abkhaz consumption in recent years has substantially exceeded the agreed quotas.
Cheap Enguri energy prompted the region to consume more — the least because of crypto-mining — than it could afford. In 2020, Abkhaz per capita consumption was 3.3 times higher than in the rest of Georgia.
The table below shows prices in Russian rubles per kWh for different categories:
| Categories | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| Household consumption, with consumers lacking meters (#1) | 0.9 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 2.7 |
| Household consumption within the social norm, provided consumers have meters (#1) | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.0 |
| Non-profit organizations in health care and education | 0.8 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.7 |
| Electrified rail transport facilities, Sokhumi Airport | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.7 |
| Enterprises/orgs of housing and communal services consuming energy for street lighting and water supply | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 2.7 |
| Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
| Public agencies and budget institutions, including the facilities of the “defense ministry” and the Russian FSB | 1.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
| Agencies and budgetary orgs financed from the local budget | 1.2 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.8 |
| Facilities of electrified urban transport | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Consumers that are not Abkhazia residents | 1.8 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 4.4 |
| Consumers engaged in crypto-mining (if allowed) | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.7 |
Read more about Abkhazia’s energy woes here:
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)