TBILISI, January 26 (RIA Novosti) - Restoration work on the natural gas pipeline leading to Georgia that was severely damaged in explosions over the weekend are expected to be completed on Saturday, the press center of the Georgian president's envoy to the region said Thursday.
"The meeting [between the envoy and a Georgian repair company] focused on speeding up the repairs on the gas pipeline and resuming natural gas deliveries to Georgia in [their] previous volumes."
The energy crisis began January 22 when explosions in a natural gas pipeline and a power line in southern Russia cut off Russian gas and electricity supplies to Georgia and Armenia. The crisis escalated when a major power failure in the early hours Thursday in Georgia left the country's capital of Tbilisi without electricity.
Currently, 95% of consumers in Tbilisi are without power, while electricity in the country's western region has been restricted to vital facilities. The east has been almost entirely cut off from power supplies.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili had to cut short his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos and return home to deal with the crisis.
