Georgia’s renewable-energy producers are calling for a clearer strategy to manage curtailment and electricity spilling before the next high-water season, after restrictions on generation affected parts of the sector in 2026.

The issue has gained additional importance after the government postponed full operation of Georgia’s intraday electricity market until 1 July 2027.

For developers and generators, the concern is not simply whether Georgia will have enough electricity over the course of a year. It is whether the system can absorb, store, export or economically trade surplus electricity during particular months.

GREDA asks what will change before next spring

Maia Melikidze, Executive Director of the Georgian Renewable Energy Development Association (GREDA), says the sector needs to know how the government intends to approach the period from May to July 2027.

She told BM.GE that restrictions on generation and water spilling caused serious difficulties for the sector in 2026. In her view, repeating the same approach next year could create further financial pressure for private generators.

Melikidze also linked the issue to market predictability. The intraday market was suspended until 1 July 2027 under a government decision issued on 8 September. She argued that late changes to market arrangements make it more difficult for investors and project owners to plan their operations and costs.

Seasonal surplus is a system issue

GNERC Chair Davit Narmania has offered a complementary perspective: periods in which generation exceeds domestic demand are an inherent feature of Georgia’s electricity system, particularly in water-rich spring and summer months.

Narmania said that regulating hydropower plants and energy-storage systems are therefore important not only for energy security, but also for using seasonal surplus more effectively and helping stabilise prices.

In 2026, he noted, high hydrological inflows increased generation while electricity prices in neighbouring markets were too low to make exports commercially attractive. System restrictions were therefore imposed on some generating facilities.

The question for 2027

The difference between the two positions is not over whether seasonal surplus exists. It is over how clearly the system should prepare for it, and how the financial consequences should be managed for generators that are asked to reduce output.

A credible strategy for 2027 would need to provide greater visibility on several connected issues: how curtailment decisions are made, what role export opportunities can realistically play, whether storage and regulating capacity are developing quickly enough, and how market arrangements will evolve before the intraday market resumes.

For a system seeking to add more hydro, wind and solar capacity, this is becoming a central practical question. New renewable generation increases supply, but its value depends on whether the electricity system can use that supply at the time it is available.

Source note: Reporting based on statements by Maia Melikidze, Executive Director of the Georgian Renewable Energy Development Association, and Davit Narmania, Chair of GNERC, to BM.GE.