Blackout cost Turkey over $700 million

The massive power outage on March 31, which hampered production and transportation across Turkey, cost the country $700 million, according to one professional, while others estimated that losses were considerably higher.

Nurettin Özdebir, the head of the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO), told daily Hürriyet that Turkey's daily national income production was $2.2 billion, with a calculated annual figure of $800 billion.

"A one-hour power cut therefore costs Turkey up to $100 million," Özdebir said, estimating the total cost of yesterday's blackout to be $700 million as it continued for almost the whole working day.

However, Gürkan Kumbaro?lu, head of the International Association of Energy Economy (IAEE) said Turkey's power demand stands at 33 million kWh per hour, which meant the overall loss was higher.

"The value of the power need not met during the cut is 6.3 million Turkish Liras [$2.3 million]," he said.
Along with intra-city transportation in many large cities, fast train lines were also hampered during the cut.

Hulusi Belgü, the head of the Shopping Mall Investors Association (AYD), said that medium-sized shopping malls spent diesel oil worth around 50,000 liras ($20,000) for generators during the blackout.
The textile industry, a leading sector for Turkish exports, suffered a production loss worth $200 million, sector representatives said.

Production at car factories, another top industry, stopped for the entire day, resulting in 2,000 less cars being assembled.

State offices, police security cameras and teller machines were also hit by the massive power outage, which hit 80 of 81 Turkish provinces for up to nine hours on March 31. Its cause is still a matter of debate.