Since April 1, Georgia’s breakaway region Abkhazia is being supplied with electricity entirely from the Enguri HPP.
Last year, from August to December 2025, Abkhazia purchased electricity from Russia at night and on holidays to maintain reserve levels. From January to March 2026, Russia supplied the region free of charge. These measures allowed the region to complete the autumn-winter period without outages or serious incidents for the first time in 10 years.
JamNews’ Sukhumi office reports that household electricity tariffs in Abkhazia increased by 15% from April 1. Consumers with single-phase connections will pay 2 rubles (about $0.02) per kWh, while three-phase connections will cost 2.7 rubles (around $0.03) per kWh. Tariffs for businesses remain unchanged.
Abkhazia has not yet fully established a metering system, and control over electricity consumption is limited. Consumption per capita in the region is roughly twice that of residents in territory controlled by Georgia.
The Georgian and Abkhaz sides agreed in the 1990s, without a signed document, that 40% of the electricity generated by the Enguri HPP should go to Abkhazia. However, the region does not always have enough electricity from the HPP, particularly in winter. In recent years, deficits were often covered by scheduled supplies from Russia.
The energy crisis was largely driven by uncontrolled cryptocurrency mining, particularly bitcoin production, which had been ongoing in Abkhazia since 2016. Georgian energy experts note that without cryptocurrency demand, Abkhazia would have struggled to use even 40% of its allocated electricity 8 to 10 years ago. Cryptocurrency mining is now banned in the region.
Timur Jinjolia, head of the energy company Chernomorenergo, said electricity consumption has dropped by around 500 million kWh compared with the 2023 peak, when demand surged due to illegal mining. The annual electricity deficit has fallen to 600–700 million kWh, down from 1.1–1.2 billion kWh three years ago.
