Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC) has organized an international online conference on Competition and Energy Market Monitoring in Practice. The participants have discussed importance of energy market monitoring, liberalization process and competition based on cases of Georgia and EU member states. Chairman of GNERC, Mr. Davit Narmania and Chairman of the Competition Agency of Georgia, Mr. Irakli Lekvinadze have opened the conference.

Davit Narmania emphasized significance of competition at the energy market and respective market monitoring and noted that GNERC facilitates formation of the markets where participants will follow equal, transparent and non-discriminatory principles.

“We aim at promoting healthy, competitive environment at the market what will improve investment environment and attract investments, on the one hand,  and will give consumers possibility to make a choice. Market monitoring department has been created at GNERC that will fully control market relations. This guarantees transparency of the processes and unimpeded formation of the competitive prices” – mentioned Davit Narmania.  

“2020 has been extraordinary year for the National Competition Agency of Georgia. Through the assistance of EU project the amendments to the Law of Georgia on Competition have been prepared that were approved by the Parliament of Georgia. Those amendments have strengthened policy of executing competition and eradicated legal gaps that appeared in practice. Furthermore, new functions have been vested upon the Agency as it was given right to execute anti-damping legislation.

One of the main directions of the amendments to the Law of Georgia on Competition concerns establishment of uniform principles with regards to discussing, decision-making and control by other regulatory authorities of the different economic sectors. This is the main objective of today’s meeting and main topic brought to discussion is to ensure efficiency of activities of the regulated sectors from the viewpoint of the competition. Thus, I would like to thank our colleagues for organizing and actively participating in this event” – stated Irakli Lekvinadze, Chairman of Georgian National Competition Agency.

General Director of Georgian Energy Exchange, Ms. Irina Milorava, Chairman of the Management Board of Georgian State Electrosystem, Mr. Ucha Uchaneishvili, Chairman of Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA) and Commissioner of GNERC, Ms. Maia Melikidze, representative of Energy Community Secretariat, Mr. Dirk Buschle, Chairman of the Competition Agency of Lituania, Sarunas Keserauskas and General Director of the Competition Agency of Austria, Mr. Theodor Tanner have made welcoming remarks at the conference,

Representatives of Georgian Energy Market participants as well as experts from the Austrian, Hungarian, Greek, Slovenian Regulatory Authorities, Competition Agencies and Market Operators took part in the conference.