Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation (GOGC) prepared ten-year development plan, which reviews the financial challenges posed by the pandemic and the devaluation of the national currency.
The Corporation predicts that certain infrastructure projects might be delayed.
“The income of the companies operating in the sector, including GOGC will decline due to the significant devaluation of the national currency. Companies’ income is one of the most important sources of financing infrastructure projects today. Gov’t policy to keep gas tariffs unchanged for “social subscribers” makes it impossible to ensure financial stability of new projects”, - the document reads.
The government has spent EUR 120 million on the measures against COVID-19, while the funds were for construction of the gas storage facility.
As for tariff subsidies, from March 2020 to February 2021, the government spent 383 million GEL on subsidizing utility tariffs. The Georgian government covered utility fees, including sanitary service, gas and water bills for households which consume less than 200 kWh of electricity and 200 cubic meters of natural gas per month.
