Utilities in Crete
This Utilities in Crete page is from the Living in Crete section of the Completely Crete website.
Living in Crete or owning a property in Crete means you need to become familiar with the Crete utilities of electricity, water and telephone.
The Greek National Electricity Company
In Crete the electricity utility company is the Greek National Electricity Company (DEH). Unlike in the UK you do not get a choice of electricity supplier – and neither do you get a constant barrage of unwanted junk mail urging you to switch utility companies!
Electricity is charged on how much you use and you'll also pay a small standing charge - bills are sent out every two months.
You will need to pay local council tax, which covers the cost of refuge collection and street lighting, and this is included in your electricity bill, together with your TV licence fee, (whether you have a TV or not!). Expect to pay for electricity roughly the same amount as you would in the UK for a similar sized home for electricity and gas combined. And remember your "council tax" is included in this cost.
Holiday Home Special Billing
DEH offers a special service for holiday homeowners allowing for long periods of absence eg over the winter months. Call in at your local DEH office and inform them you will be away and for how many months and they will make an estimated calculation.
How to Pay
You can set up direct debit payments with your Crete bank for the payment of electricity bills.
Electricity bills can be paid at any Post Office, and over the counter at your bank. There is a small handling fee for this service.
DEH have payment offices in main towns, where you can pay your bill in cash over the counter. No service fee is charged.
Water Supply
Water supply is the responsibility of the local municipality in which you live.
Unlike many Greek Islands, water is less scarce on Crete, but is still a precious resource. Again, you pay for what you use. Domestic water bills are generally very low - about €6 per month.
If your home is outside the village limits or town boundary, or if you have an olive grove within the boundary, then water supply is deemed an agricultural matter.
Incidentally the tap water is safe to drink. We find it to be better than what we were used to in the UK.
How to Pay
You can set up direct debit payments with your Crete bank for the payment of water bills.
You can pay your water bill by cash at your local town.
Telephone
The OTE is the national Greek telephone service and can provide Internet access too, through its subsidiary Otenet.
There are other telephone service and Internet providers here in Crete also.
Telephone costs vary between companies and mobile telephone providers.
We've found that costs compare very favourably to UK telephone company charges and rates.
For more on telephone services, internet provision and mobile phones click here
How to Pay
You can set up direct debit payments with your Crete bank for the payment of telephone bills.
Telephone bills can be paid at any Post Office, and over the counter at your bank. There is a small handling fee for this service.
OTE have payment offices in main towns, where you can pay your bill in cash over the counter. No service fee is charged.
For more on details on the cost of living in Crete see our Cost of Living page.
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