ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
December 12, 2004 Sunday 9:45 AM Eastern Time
Lights down in majority of Georgian districts
By Tengiz Pachkoria
TBILISI
Lights went down in the majority of Georgian districts because of an
emergency shutdown of several power lines and a unit of the Inguri
hydropower plant.
Electricity imports from Armenia stopped late on Saturday night
because of the emergency shutdown of the Alaverdi power line, which
supplied 100 megawatts of electricity to Tbilisi and another 60
megawatts to Georgian areas bordering on Armenia, a source in the
Tbilisi-based Telasi electricity distribution grid told Itar-Tass.
Russia’s UES energy grid has a 75% interest in Telasi. Reasons for
the shutdown are yet unknown.
One of the two units of the Inguri hydropower plant stopped
functioning for several hours last night on technical reasons.
Consequentially, electricity imports from Russia by the Kavkasioni
power line was stopped. The power line supplies 100 megawatts of
electricity to Tbilisi and 100 megawatts to other Georgian districts.
Inguri hydropower plant head Levan Mebonia told Itar-Tass on Sunday
they had repaired the unit and resumed electricity imports from
Russia.
The ninth unit of the Tbilisi power plant, which produces over 200
megawatts of electricity, supplied electricity to several
neighborhoods of Tbilisi last night and on Sunday morning. The unit
met less than 50% of Tbilisi electricity needs.