Power Trip. An American Energy Utility in Post-Soviet Georgia

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Description

In January of 1999, the American multinational known as AES purchased Telasi, an electricity distribution company, from the Georgian government. AES's goal: to establish a modern, U.S.-style power utility in Tbilisi, a city rife with violence and corruption. But less than five years later, AES sold Telasi to Russia's state-owned United Energy Systems, giving Russian interests further control over Georgia's energy supply. This award-winning documentary shows what happened in the interim-as AES managers and frustrated Georgians, from TV journalists to everyday citizens, struggled with new systems, practices, and policies amid urban chaos. A superb case study in the overlap between energy, economics, and social change. This edition has been slightly edited for classroom-friendly use.