The Georgian government will launch a large-scale electricity metering program in Mestia Municipality to address the growing problem of cryptocurrency mining and excessive power consumption, Vice Prime Minister Mamuka Mdinaradze announced on June 1.
According to Mdinaradze, the region’s electricity network has been heavily overloaded, leading to deteriorating service quality, frequent outages, and negative impacts on both local residents and the tourism sector. He noted that electricity consumption in Mestia reached 133 million kilowatt-hours in 2025, compared with around 10 million kilowatt-hours in municipalities of similar size.
The government estimates that illegal electricity use, largely linked to unauthorized crypto mining, causes annual losses of at least GEL 20–25 million to the power system. Mdinaradze said these costs are ultimately borne by electricity consumers across the country.
Under the new plan, electricity metering will be introduced throughout Mestia and surrounding villages. The government stressed that the goal is to eliminate illegal and unregistered consumption, while maintaining free electricity for local residents within a specified usage limit. Consumption above that threshold will be subject to tariffs. Law enforcement agencies have been instructed to support the rollout and crack down on large-scale illegal electricity use.
