USAID’s Hydropower Investment Promotion Project (HIPP), implemented by Deloitte Consulting LLP, conducted a two-day Regional Electricity Trading Conference on November 19-20, 2012 in Metekhi Sheraton Hotel, Tbilisi, Georgia.
USAID’s three year Hydropower Investment Promotion Project (HIPP) supports market-based initiatives to stimulate and secure international investments into Georgia’s small and medium-sized hydroelectric power market. HIPP’s objective is to facilitate private-sector development of a minimum of 400 MW in new, run-of-river hydropower stations.
Along with attracting investors by providing new economically viable hydropower projects to them, HIPP is working on harmonizing Georgian trading rules and regulations with EU standards to enhance the enabling environment for hydropower investment in the country.
HIPP’s technical assistance can enable Georgian run-of-river hydropower plants to trade clean energy across international borders into regional competitive power markets. This precedent could enable Georgia to be a leader in clean energy trading and Georgian HPPs be competitive electricity suppliers to European markets.
To this end HIPP has initiated the Regional Electricity Trading Conference, which aimed at:
- Connecting electricity sellers and off-takers to facilitate the trade of clean energy across international borders, including into competitive power markets.
- Building the capacity of Georgian conference attendees so they better understand international electricity trading.
- Enabling international power market players and regional counterparts to share their views and experiences with one another.
The workshop was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and other energy stakeholders and Georgian energy stakeholders (ESCO, GSE, GNERC), International Financial Institutions (WB, IFC, KfW, EBRD, ADB), EU representatives, regional energy traders and private hydropower project developers participated in the conference. Statkraft deserves particular mention for providing several workshops.
The Conference was highly appreciated by all participants including the Deputy Minister of Energy.
HIPP plans to organize the 2nd Regional Electricity Trading Conference in spring, 2013.