According to Galt&Taggart study, local electricity consumption totaled 1.3TWh in February, up 1.9% y/y. Growth was fully driven by direct consumers, while the other two major consumer categories posted declines:
• Consumption in the Abkhazian region fell by 5.7% y/y
• Retail market consumption declined by 2.2% y/y
• Direct consumer demand increased by 25.8% y/y.
In our view, weaker retail demand likely reflected milder weather conditions, while the strong increase in direct consumption points to higher activity in energy-intensive industries, including ferroalloy plants and data centers.
