Power Plant Licensing

Is a licence required to generate electricity for own consumption?

No, if the object of both generation and consumption is not connected to the transmission or distribution network. Licensing also does not apply to small and micro capacity power plants, or to generation during the acceptance of the object into operation under Article 36 of the law.

Within what period does the system operator decide on acceptance into operation?

If the network rules do not provide otherwise, the system operator must declare consent or refusal to accept the generation object into operation within no more than 90 calendar days from the trial run.

What must the licence certificate contain?

The licence certificate must indicate the licence holder, the licensed activity, the services to be provided by the licensee, the location of the main assets, the area of validity of the licence and the date of issuance. The standard form is approved by the Commission.

Can a licence refusal be appealed?

Yes. A refusal may be appealed under the procedure established by the Electricity Law and the Law on Licences and Permits. The refusal must be substantiated and duly explained, and every such case is notified to the Secretariat of the Energy Community.

Which environmental document accompanies the application?

The environmental decision provided by the Environmental Assessment Code, where it is mandatory for the specific activity; from 1 September 2026 the law also provides for the submission of an integrated environmental permit in the relevant cases.

7 min·9 Jan 2026

What the power plant licensing regime covers

Building and operating a power plant in Georgia falls under the mandatory authorization established by the Georgian Law on Electricity and Gas Supply (the Electricity Law). Under Article 11 of that law, the Commission issues licences, in accordance with the Georgian Law on Licences and Permits and the conditions provided by the Electricity Law, for the following activities in the electricity sector: generation of electricity (except the cases provided by paragraph 3 of Article 11), transmission of electricity, distribution of electricity, and operation of the electricity market. The same norm also lists licensable activities in the natural gas sector and in water supply, but for a power plant the central question is precisely the generation licence.

Paragraph 2 of Article 11 imposes a direct prohibition: it is forbidden to carry out the activities listed in paragraph 1 without a valid licence issued by the Commission — a licence that gives the enterprise the right to carry out the corresponding activity. Operating a station without a licence is therefore not a mere administrative defect; it places the operator outside the legal framework and under sectoral supervision. In practice, the seeker of a generation licence is usually the enterprise that owns the station and intends to bring it into operation after connecting it to the network.

Updated: 15 Oct 2026

Power Plant Licensing