---
title: "Cartel Investigations"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/environmental-and-energy-law-en/cartel-investigations-en"
field: "Environmental & Energy Law"
description: "Cartel investigations on the energy market: market inquiry within 7 months, significant influence and concentration control. Legal.ge."
reviewed: "2026-02-13"
updated: "2026-10-14"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Cartel Investigations

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/environmental-and-energy-law-en/cartel-investigations-en

## Cartel Investigations in Georgia — the Real Legal Picture

It is best to state clearly at the outset: the general rules of cartel investigation are defined by Georgian competition legislation and enforced by the Competition and Consumer Protection Agency; this page rests on the chapters of the Law on Electricity and Water Supply that regulate competition on the energy market. Sectoral oversight of the energy market relies precisely on the instruments permitted by that law — market investigation, the assessment of significant influence and concentration control.

If you are affected by cartel behaviour on the energy market — price fixing, market sharing or the restriction of a competitor — your legal route is twofold: the general competition claims and the sectoral mechanisms established by the energy law, which we examine in detail below.

The full text is available on legal.ge after signing in: https://legal.ge/en/service/environmental-and-energy-law-en/cartel-investigations-en

### Who conducts cartel investigations on the energy market?

The market investigation on the energy market is conducted by the commission — at the request of the Government, the ministry, the Competition and Consumer Protection Agency, the Public Defender, an injured participant, or on its own initiative. The general cartel investigation regime is defined by competition legislation.

### How long does an energy market investigation last?

The time limit is 7 months from the day of the commission's decision to conduct the investigation, and where there is a substantiated reasonable necessity the commission may extend it by not more than 4 months.

### What measures can the commission take as a result?

The investigation ends with a decision which may include revocation of a license, a fine, market opening incentive measures, an application to competent authorities, and a temporary prohibition of participation in the energy market.

### When does a concentration require prior notification?

When the value of assets or annual turnover of the participating regulated enterprises exceeds the threshold established by a normative act of the commission. A concentration creating or strengthening dominance is presumed restrictive unless the enterprise proves otherwise.