Outstanding trends and possible causes of electricity consumption in Georgia in the last 10 years

Since 2016, consumption has started to grow, coinciding with the development of the cryptocurrency mining industry [from 9.09 billion kWh in 2016 to 9.87 billion kWh in 2017]. The annual growth rate was more than 800 million kWh, while in the previous five years the total consumption in Georgia increased only by 1.1 billion kWh.

Between 2012-2016, a small increase in electricity consumption [from 7.8 billion kWh to 8.9 billion kWh] was observed in the controlled territory of Georgia;

Since July 2022, electricity consumption dropped sharply, and this trend continues to this day, which coincides to the sharp decrease in energy spent on cryptocurrency mining. An example of this is the consumption of the largest crypto farm in Georgia – “Bitfury”: in 2021 the company consumed 433.6 million kWh [the second largest consumption among the largest consumers in Georgia], while in 2022 Bitfury’s consumption decreased sharply and went down to 170.8 million kWh annual consumption, and even dropped down to 0.5 million kWh in the first six months of 2023.

Another reason for the decrease of the electricity consumption in Georgia may be related to the plunge in the prices of energy-efficient lamps in the market, which probably contributed to their widespread use among the population, without any state support measures.

If government programs promote and support energy efficiency, electricity consumption may decrease further in the coming years.

Meanwhile, consumption in Abkhazia is being increased while the transit of electricity and export from Georgia continues to grow.