The head of Georgian State Electrosystem (GSE), the country’s main electricity transmission grid owner, has left his post days after Georgia was hit by two nationwide blackouts on July 24-25.
Vano Zardiashvili, a former Georgian Dream MP who has headed GSE since 2025, was reported dismissed by Business Media Georgia (bm.ge) on August 2. The outlet cited anonymous sources that linked his alleged dismissal to preliminary findings by Georgia’s National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC), which acts as an independent regulator overseeing the electricity sector. A GSE representative, however, rejected that Zardiashvili was dismissed over GNERC’s findings, saying instead that he resigned himself.
The regulator’s preliminary findings came a week after the July 24 blackout, which GNERC said followed the disconnection of Georgia’s power system from Azerbaijan’s grid. The findings raised questions about the national grid’s protection systems and its ability to remain stable while operating in isolation.
According to Georgia’s Public Broadcaster, the GNERC working group said Georgia’s power system abruptly disconnected from Azerbaijan’s grid at around 00:10:49 on July 24. The system then had to operate on its own, causing frequency and voltage to fall. This triggered “cascading shutdowns” of power plants and consumers, eventually resulting in a “complete shutdown” of the power system.
The working group identified the 110 kV Geguti transmission line, owned by Energo-Pro Georgia, the largest private electricity distribution and generation company supplying power to customers outside Tbilisi, as one factor in the incident.
It said that the GSE “should not have waited” for new fast-acting protection systems to be installed, but should instead have adjusted the protection and automation systems already in place. According to the regulator, this could have reduced the risk of Georgia being disconnected from Azerbaijan and helped keep the power system stable.
The working group said the issue requires further investigation in two areas: why the connection with Azerbaijan was cut, and why Georgia’s power system could not remain stable while operating on its own.
Separately, the State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) is investigating the July 24-25 blackouts under “sabotage.”. The outages also affected the occupied Abkhazia region.
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists on August 3 that he “cannot say” whether Zardiashvili was dismissed, adding that “the decision in this regard is made directly by the Economy Ministry.” He added that “many [good] things were done in the power system under Vano Zardiashvili’s leadership.”
Also Read:
