Joint management of Enguri Hydropower station

The draft agreement between the Georgian Government and Russian state-controlled company Inter Rao EES is being studied by the two sides, Minister of Energy of Georgia Aleksandre Khetaguri stated on April 4. If the agreement creates conditions under which Georgia’s energy security will eventually increase the agreement will be formalized, said the Minister, but he added that it is difficult to give precise information on when the negotiations will be concluded.

The memorandum of understanding envisaging joint management of Enguri HPP for ten years was signed by Inter Rao EES and the Georgian Ministry of Energy on December 27, 2008. The memorandum highlights the basic principles on which the final document would be based.

The leak of information about the signing of this memorandum caused a serious scandal in Georgia. State authorities refused to give detailed information about the contents of the memorandum, keeping it confidential, while the opposition and the general population demanded that it be made public.

Economic expert Davit Narmania has told the Rezonansi newspaper that the signing of this document with a Russian state-controlled company could mean two things. Either the authorities are openly collaborating with a country with which Georgia is in a state of war, which is unacceptable, or the administration is doing secret deals with the Russian side.