Turkey is faced with a serious energy crisis, says engineers chamber
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The recent energy restrictions in Turkey were a result of the government's energy policies and the country's foreign dependence on fossil fuels, according to the Chamber of Chemical Engineers, which is affiliated with the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB/UCTEA).
"The reasons that increase foreign dependence are inefficient use of energy, ever-increasing energy demand, privatizations and insufficient use of renewable energy resources," said Dr. Ali Uğurlu, the head of the chamber.
After Iran announced on January 20 that it would stop natural gas delivery to Turkey for 10 days due to a "technical malfunction," Turkey had to restrict the industrial use of natural gas for three days, which reportedly cost 1 billion dollars to the country.
Also, the sharp increase in electricity, natural gas and fuel prices have caused outrage with people protesting on the streets in several cities.
The country's energy demand rose from 80.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) in 2000 to 147.2 million TOE in 2020, Uğurlu noted, citing Ministry of Energy figures. The share of imported resources in energy production increased from 52 to 70 percent in the same period.
"One of the reasons for the recent crisis in energy supply is the inadequate natural gas storage. It is clear that this situation will cause gas and electricity cuts in the industry, stopping production, increasing costs and fueling the already unbearable cost of living," said Uğurlu.
"The share of natural gas in Turkey's primary energy supply is 27 percent. One third of the electricity consumed in the first 11 months of 2021 was produced in natural gas-fired power plants.
"Our country is 99 percent foreign-dependent on natural gas. Therefore, there is no technically justifiable explanation for generating electricity from natural gas in thermal power plants."
Privatization
The privatization of the energy distribution services is also a reason for the excessively high electricity prices, Uğurlu stressed.
"Even though the Electricity Production Inc. provides very cheap electricity to distribution companies, problems such as these companies selling the electricity to the people four or five times higher have overwhelmed the industrialists, shopkeepers and the people," he said.
"At this point, Turkey is facing a serious energy crisis. It is not possible to solve these problems with the current approach and policies.
"The radical solution of our country's energy crisis is the effective and efficient supply of energy based on renewable resources to the maximum extent." (HA/VK)