Why transfer the utility accounts?
When you buy a flat in Georgia, the Public Registry records you as the owner, but the electricity, water and gas accounts stay in the name they were in until someone changes them. Each utility keeps its own customer register and its own account number for the address. Until you are registered, the bills, notices and any decisions about the supply go to the previous customer, and you cannot sign a contract, query a bill or ask for a reconnection in your own name.
The rules are set by the national energy and water regulator, GNERC, and by each city for the cleaning fee. This guide covers who supplies what in Tbilisi and Batumi, how to check for the seller's debts, and the order in which to put each account in your name.
Who supplies electricity, water and gas?
| Service | Tbilisi | Batumi and Adjara |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity supply | Telmico (since 1 July 2021; Telasi runs the network) | EP Georgia Supply (Energo-Pro group runs the network) |
| Water and sewage | Georgian Water and Power (GWP), also Mtskheta and Rustavi | The city's water company |
| Natural gas | Tbilisi Energy | SOCAR Georgia Gas |
| Cleaning (waste) fee | City fee; the notice goes to the owner and/or the registered payer | City fee |
To be added by the team: AVI Estates to add the name, documents and service points of the Batumi water company, how the Batumi cleaning fee is billed, and whether SOCAR Georgia Gas supplies every district of Batumi.
Can the seller's unpaid bills become your problem?
Under the regulator's rules, a utility debt belongs to the customer who ran it up, not to the flat. The gas rules forbid a supplier to put one customer's debt on another without written consent, and allow a final unpaid balance to be charged to the same customer at another address. The electricity network rules likewise let the operator charge a final balance to that customer or to their other account. In Tbilisi, the instruction on the cleaning fee says the former owner pays the fee up to the end of the month in which ownership changes.
In practice, though, a flat with a large debt on its account can mean a cut-off supply, a reconnection to arrange and weeks of letters. Settle the question before completion:
- Ask the seller for the latest bill of every service, with the account numbers.
- Check the current balance of each account by its number, in a banking app or a payment service.
- Write into the sale contract that the seller pays all bills up to the day of handover.
- Read the meters together on the day of handover and sign the readings.
To be added by the team: the partner lawyer to confirm, from the latest consolidated rules for water and electricity, that a new owner cannot be asked to pay the previous customer's debt.
How to put the accounts in your name, step by step
Wait for the registration
Order a fresh extract from the Public Registry once the flat is registered in your name; every utility asks for proof of ownership.
Record the meters
Photograph each meter with its serial number and reading on the day you take the keys, and keep the seller's last bills.
Electricity
Register with the supplier with your extract and your ID card or passport, online through your customer account, by email, at a service centre or at a Public Service Hall.
Water
Apply to the water company with proof of ownership; the rules require the new owner to apply and the company to register you within five working days, free of charge.
Gas
Sign a supply contract with the gas company and attach proof of ownership, or the sale contract on which your registration is based.
Cleaning fee
Check that the city fee is now billed to you as owner, and that the seller paid it up to the month of transfer.
Internet and the building
Open your own internet contract, and give your details to the owners' association or the building's management for the monthly fee.
Set up payments
Save each account number as a payment template in your banking app, or arrange automatic payments.
Which documents do you need?
For a household electricity contract with Telmico, the supplier lists an extract from the Public Registry and the ID card or passport of the person signing. A representative brings a notarised power of attorney and their own ID, and a tenant brings the lease or the owner's consent. The gas rules ask for proof of ownership or the owner's consent with the signed contract, and accept the document on which a household's ownership registration is based. The water rules require proof of ownership and accept, besides a personal number, another identity document allowed under Georgian law.
Can a foreigner hold the accounts?
Yes. We found no rule requiring a Georgian personal number to become a customer: the electricity supplier accepts a passport, and the water rules accept other lawful identity documents. If you are not in Georgia, a representative can register the accounts with a notarised power of attorney; our page on the power of attorney explains how to prepare one from abroad. A Georgian bank account makes paying easier, but bills can also be paid by card through the suppliers' websites and payment services.
What if a tenant is registered at the address?
Since 1 February 2024, when an owner applies to the electricity supplier and a tenant is registered at the same address, the supplier sends the tenant a text message. The tenant has at least two working days to object. If there is no objection, the owner is registered; if the tenant objects, the owner's application is refused, unless official documents show that the tenant's possession has ended. If you buy a flat that was let, ask the seller to end the tenancy in writing before completion, and keep that document for the utilities.
New buildings: connection and meters
The Spatial Planning Code links permanent supply to commissioning: before the act, a building gets power and gas only for the works, and only while its construction permit runs. So in a new building the permanent accounts usually start after the commissioning act. For a first electricity connection, Telmico asks for the network operator's text message confirming the connection.
A gas connection for a low-pressure household supply of up to 6 m³ an hour costs GEL 1,100 including VAT in self-governing cities such as Tbilisi and Batumi, and GEL 800 in other municipalities, since 1 July 2026. The distribution company connects the flat and installs the meter within 60 working days; half the fee is paid before applying and the rest within 10 working days after supply starts, and households may spread the fee over 17 months. The internal pipes in the flat are the owner's to build. A change of owner does not trigger a new connection fee for electricity.
What the bills cost
Electricity for households is priced in three bands by monthly use. From 1 April 2026, Telmico charges 20.041 tetri per kWh up to 101 kWh, 24.053 tetri from 101 to 301 kWh and 28.537 tetri above 301 kWh, VAT included; regional prices are slightly lower. For water in Tbilisi, GWP's ceiling for a metered household is GEL 0.424 per m³ for water and sewage together, and GEL 3.828 per person a month without a meter, both before VAT. Gas is billed per cubic metre at the regulated tariff of your gas company. A full guide to monthly costs will follow on a separate page.
If you let the flat
A tenant can be registered as the customer with a lease or with your consent, so that bills and any debts are in the tenant's name. Many landlords prefer to keep the accounts in their own name and add the bills to the rent, which protects the supply but makes the landlord responsible for payment. Whichever you choose, write it into the lease and record the meter readings when each tenant moves in and out. Our guide to renting out an apartment covers the lease.
Paying from abroad
Each account has its own number, and bills can be paid through Georgian banking apps with saved templates, through cash terminals, at bank branches and on the suppliers' websites. Telmico bills must be paid within 15 calendar days of billing. If you spend months away, an automatic payment or a trusted person with your account numbers avoids a cut-off for a forgotten bill.
Risks and exceptions
- Accounts left in the seller's name. Notices and decisions about the supply go to someone else.
- Unchecked debts. A cut-off supply can take weeks to sort out, even if the debt is not yours.
- A registered tenant. An objection can block your electricity registration.
- No commissioning act. A new flat cannot get permanent electricity or gas.
- Forgotten bills while abroad. Late payment can lead to disconnection.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay the previous owner's utility debts?
Under the regulator's rules a debt follows the customer, not the flat, but check balances and settle them in the contract to avoid a cut-off.
How long does a transfer take?
The water rules require registration within five working days; the other suppliers handle applications online or at service centres.
Is there a fee for changing the account holder?
The water rules forbid a registration fee, and a change of owner does not trigger a new electricity connection fee.
Can I do it without a Georgian personal number?
Yes, with a passport; we found no rule requiring a personal number.
Can someone do it for me?
Yes, a representative with a notarised power of attorney and their own ID.
Who pays the cleaning fee?
The owner or the registered payer; the former owner pays up to the end of the month of transfer in Tbilisi.
Why is there no gas in my new flat?
Gas and permanent electricity can only be supplied after the building's commissioning act, and the gas connection takes up to 60 working days.
Should a tenant be the account holder?
Either can work; decide in the lease and record the meter readings at every change.
Sources
- GNERC Resolution No 47 of 2020: Electricity Retail Market Rules, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- GNERC Resolution No 19 of 2021: Electricity Distribution Network Rules, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- GNERC Resolution No 60 of 2021: Natural Gas Retail Market Rules, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- GNERC Resolution No 32 of 2008: Drinking Water Supply and Consumption Rules, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- GNERC Resolution No 14 of 2026: gas connection fees, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Tbilisi Sakrebulo Resolution No 17-46 on the cleaning fee, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- GNERC Resolution No 78 of 2023: water tariffs of GWP, Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Spatial Planning, Architectural and Construction Activities Code of Georgia (Article 139.1), Legislative Herald of Georgia (accessed 14 October 2026)
- Documents required to conclude the agreement: residential customers, Telmico (accessed 14 October 2026)
- From 1 July the Tbilisi electricity supplier changes, Telmico, 30 June 2021 (accessed 14 October 2026)
- GNERC releases official information on new electricity tariffs, First Channel, 30 March 2026 (accessed 14 October 2026)
Change log
- - Guide published from GNERC rules, Tbilisi cleaning-fee rules, Telmico and the Spatial Planning Code.