Black Sea Transmission Network Project (BSTN)

Black Sea Transmission Network Project, supported by a number of international donor organizations (including European Commission Neighborhood Investment Fund (EC NIF), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB) and KfW) and co-funded by GSE, was started in 2009, to create an asynchronous interconnection between the 500 kV network of Georgia and the 400 kV network of Turkey.

The aim of the Project was to stabilize Georgia’s power transmission network as well as to facilitate transfer of bulk power and large scale electricity trading between Georgia, the other Southern Caucasus countries and the countries of the Black Sea Power Transmission Network, particularly Turkey. The project will additionally establish an important precondition for the development of Georgia’s vast hydropower resources.

The project consisted of three components:

1. Component A ( 500 & 400 kV Overhead Lines; Contractor- KEC, India) was split into three phases: Phase 1A, 1B and 2

Phase 1A - 500 kV OHL Zekari from Zestafoni to Akhaltsikhe
Phase 1B - 400 kV OHL Meskheti from Akhaltsikhe to Turkish Border
Phase 2 -500 kV OHL Vardzia from Gardabani to Akhaltsikhe

2. Component B – 500 kV S/S Zestafoni, & 500/400/220 kV S/S Akhaltsikhe and 500 kV S/S Gardabani (Contractor -Siemens Austria)

3. Component C - 2 x 350 MW BtB Converter Station (Contractor -Siemens Austria)

The Project was successfully completed in 2013, providing 700MW capacity interconnection between the Georgian and Turkish electricity grids through rehabilitation/construction of 500kV overhead line Gardabani-Akhaltsikhe-Zestaponi and construction of 400kV interconnection line from Akhaltsikhe to Turkish border, as well as the construction of a new 500/400/220kV substation with HVDC back to back plant in Akhaltsikhe.

Through this transmission infrastructure Georgia is able to export or wheel electricity to the emerging, demanding markets of Turkey as well as of other countries of eastern or central Europe and Asia.

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