By  Trend

Electricity consumption decreased in Georgia due to the slowdown in economic activity during the coronavirus pandemic, said Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava, Trend reports via Georgian media.

Meanwhile, electricity consumption in Georgia has grown over the past 20 years, but the situation with coronavirus in the country and the world has affected this industry.

"The slowdown of business processes amid COVID-19 inevitably led to a decrease in electricity demand," Turnava said.

According to the minister, during the economic crisis, the government helped a certain category of citizens with paying electricity tariffs.

"We immediately subsidized the payment of electricity tariffs for the population for three months, which made the solvency of people stable in this difficult period and, in particular, indirectly helped energy companies," she said.

According to the Electricity System Commercial Operator (ESCO), 13.4 billion kW/h of electricity was consumed and 11.9 billion kW/h was generated in Georgia in 2019.

"It is expected that the reduction in electricity consumption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will continue throughout the second quarter of 2020 in Georgia, and the ministry of economy predicts a 0.8 percent decrease in total consumption, up to 12.7 billion kW/h this year."