Cem Aşık

Hydroelectric power plants' energy production in Turkey declined by 11.5 percent in 2020 from the previous year due to drought.

The continued drought in the country and the need to undertake maintenance work at aging natural gas plants are now posing risks to energy supply.

Nearly half of Turkey's electricity production in April was generated by hydroelectric power plants, while the share of wind tribunes passed that of natural gas plants, according to data released by the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry on May 2.

Electricity production decreased by 16.3 percent to 19.1 billion kilowatt-hours compared to April 2019.

Electricity generation at natural gas plants has decreased dramatically due to decline in demand, Electricity Producers Association head Cem Aşık said on April 23.

"We expect a decrease of 20 percent in demand this month. The decrease in demand will be 17 percent in May and 4 percent in June, according to our estimates," he said.