International Energy Agency’s final report on Turkey’s energy politics indicates that with privatization and electricity market reforms, Turkey’s energy sector has attracted substantial interest from the investors. Dr. Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director, said that, to attract more investments, the liberalization of the energy markets needs to progress further. He also underlined that Turkey’s contribution is vital for regional and European energy security.

According to the report titled “Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Turkey 2016 Review” published by International Energy Agency on September 2016, Turkey’s energy sector has attracted substantial interest in the investor’s community thanks to privatisation and electricity market reforms and the country should continue down this path and reform its energy markets.

“Privatization in electricity distribution sector triggered private investment boom”

Report said, “During the last decade, electricity market reforms have advanced. The liberalization and privatization of electricity generation and distribution triggered a private investment boom (generating capacity doubled between 2007 and 2014) and secured energy access for its population.” Dr. Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director underlined that, to attract more investments, the liberalization of the energy markets needs to progress further.

The report highlighted 3 avenues for reform:

  • The strengthening of the independence of system operators and regulatory authorities
  • The abolishment of market distortions in favor of market pricing
  • Continuance of investments in a more flexible and modern gas and electricity infrastructure

According to IEA, these pillars are critical for securing stable and reliable electrical power supplies, ensuring sustainable economic growth and ensuring much needed diversification.

Turkey is an important energy player in the region

The report underlined that Turkey has a unique geographical location and is an important energy player in its region and Turkey’s regional integration is advancing, thanks to the construction of the Transanatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and the connection to the European electricity grid (ENTSO-E) with the Turkish Transmission System Operator for Electricity (TEİAŞ) becoming an observer of ENTSO-E. Dr. Birol stated that, “Turkey’s contribution is vital for regional and European energy security,”

Investments in clean coal technologies are needed

Pointing at Turkey’s emission reduction goal and plans to double coal-fired electricity supply by 2019, the report said that further investment in clean coal technologies, the swift refurbishment of old plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb air pollution will be required.

Dr. Birol said that, “With more energy efficiency and renewable energy, cleaner coal and nuclear can be part of a secure and low carbon mix, but the legal frameworks must be put in place to ensure high standards of environmental performance and safety.”

Source: IEA

Trakya Electricity Distribution Company (TREDAS) opened an Operation Center in cooperation with GE company, for minimizing the duration of the defects and black outs, to supply continuous energy and to increase consumer satisfaction. The center can detect and localize outages in less than 5 minutes.

Operating in Provinces, Edirne, Tekirdag and Kirklareli, 26 districts, 57 towns and 678 villages with around 1 million customers, TREDAS provides services to almost 2 million people in its region. By late 2011, IC İCTAS Energy Investment took over Trakya Electricity Distribution Company (TREDAS) under privatization process. The company has 2 thousand employees in total (direct and indirectly).

The Operation Center was put into service with a ceremony with the attendance of the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak. It is the first reference project in Turkey to integrate Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Remote Control and Observation System, Distribution Management Systems and Blackout Management Systems. The center, which works 24/7 and control 732 fields, can detect and localize outages in less than 5 minutes.

Serhat Çeçen, Chairman of the Executive Board of IC İCTAS Energy, said, “By using real time tracking, instant interference, field team management and remote control functions, we aim to minimize the duration of the black outs. We receive very positive feedbacks. We will observe the results in the coming period more clearly. This system will be integrated with the public institutions (EMRA) over time and consumer’s satisfaction will be monitored closely.”

2,5 billion dollar worth investment plan

Serhat Çeçen, Chairman of the Executive Board of IC İCTAS Energy, stated that Trakya region has a very high electricity consumption due to the industrial consumers. He said, for providing continuous energy and to increase consumer satisfaction, they will boost investments.

Çeçen stated that, as IC Holding, they plan to invest 500 million dollars for distribution sector and 2 billion dollars for power plants and renewable energy in the following 5 years. He said; “While creating new employment, we also work for our employees to become qualified. Last year, electricity distribution sector created 5 thousand new employment all around Turkey.”

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Electricity Networks Privatization in Australia: An Overview of the Debate
By: Rabindra Nepal and John Foster

The debate on electricity networks privatization in the Australian National Electricity Market is an important public policy concern but remains unsettled. This article reviews and compares the economic performance between the privately and state-owned electricity networks in Australia across three dimensions encompassing prices, quality and investment. The comparative analysis suggests that privately owned networks are not worse off than the state-owned networks in terms of performance. However, international empirical evidences indicate that the efficiency gains to consumers from electricity networks privatization will depend on the underlying regulatory regime and regulatory institutional framework. The long-term concerns on future investments, security of supply, climate change and economic regulation of networks will continue to prevail once the short-term efficiency gains from privatization are exhausted. These concerns imply that the role of the state will still be significant, although transformed, even after electricity networks privatization raising questions on the motives of privatization.

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Hydro Power According to the Installed Capacity

Source: General Directorate of Renewable Energy