Energy Market Regulatory Authority

Natural gas prices have been increased and are effective as of April 1, the Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) has announced, citing rising costs.

According to the statement the state-owned company released, natural gas prices for households and industrial facilities were hiked by 35 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

Turkey's electricity production increased by 5.7 percent in December 2021 on an annual basis, according to the latest data announced by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) on Feb. 24. 

Total electricity production increased from 26.94 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in December 2020 to around 28.46 million MWh, the energy watchdog said in its monthly report for December 2021.

Turkey's total oil imports increased by 42.4 percent on an annual basis to 4.03 million tons in December 2021, according to data released by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) yesterday.

Crude oil imports, the category with the highest oil import volume, rose by 45.9 percent in December to 2.98 million tons, the energy watchdog said in its monthly report.

The Turkish government is working on arrangements to reduce electricity bills some 25 percent for businesses, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez has said.

"A multiple-grade tariff will be brought for small businesses. A discount of 25 percent is being considered for the low-consumption grade," he told a private broadcaster on Feb. 17.

Authorities are putting the final touches on work to ease the burden of electricity bills on households and businesses.

Government officials are devising a plan with different options, expected to be submitted to the cabinet soon.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez will meet with representatives of electricity distribution companies in the afternoon today.

The main topic of the meeting will be investments that should be made to protect households against disruptions caused by natural disasters.

The government is currently weighing several options to lower the electricity costs of households and businesses.

At the start of the year, a gradual tariff was introduced for households' consumption and the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) set the limit in the two-stage electricity billing system as 150 kilowatt-hours.

Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (Botaş) announced yesterday that natural gas cuts to industrial zones would end as of this morning.

In a tweet, the national energy company thanked industrialists "for their understanding and cooperation in this period."

On Jan. 20, Iran halted natural gas flow into Turkey for 10 days due to technical failures on a key pipeline.

Natural gas supply testing from Iran to Turkey has started in limited quantities, which will alleviate natural gas cuts to the country's industrial sector from Jan. 31, Turkey's national pipeline operator Botaş has said.

The Azerbaijani state oil company, SOCAR, has agreed to import additional amounts of natural gas to Turkey amid a cut in the flow from Iran, a senior official of the company has said.