David Narmania, Chairman of the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission, addressed the III International Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection about ongoing reforms in the electricity and natural gas sectors.

“I positively evaluate the activity on the energy exchange under the voluntary trade conditions and believe that trading on the energy exchange will become even more dynamic in the next stage. Since July 1 of this year, 21 participants have been registered on the exchange, with trading volumes reaching 17,493.9 MWh at a weighted average price of 130.54 GEL/MWh. This price is lower than ESCO"s weighted average price for balancing electricity, which was 154.31 GEL/MWh during the same period in 2024. This shows that electricity buyers saved approximately 400,000 GEL through trading on the energy exchange".

"As for the natural gas sector, a number of regulations have been developed, and work is underway on the unbundling of transmission and distribution system operators, based on the obligations arising from the Third Energy Package of Europe," noted David Narmania.

On November 20-22, the III International Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection is being held in Tbilisi, jointly organized by 5 regulatory agencies – the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission, the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency, the National Bank of Georgia, the Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia and the Communications Commission. The conference aims to strengthen competition policy in Georgia and enhance mechanisms for protecting consumer rights.

Over the three-day conference, participants will discuss the mechanisms for controlling concentrations in regulated sectors of the economy, enforcement policies, and effective approaches to the consumer protection. To share the best practices, they will also discuss the methods for combating cartels and managing anti-dumping policies in Eastern Partnership countries.