2023 is shaping up to be an intense year for energy!

Türkiye's dependence on foreign energy and the role of energy imports in the current account deficit has been among the top issues on the agenda for many years. Due to the importance of the issue, a lot has been written and drawn. Indeed, while the amount of energy imports of Türkiye increases every year due to its economic growth, the bill it pays also increases depending on price developments. However, it seems that the steps taken in the last period pave the way for the problem to be alleviated significantly.

Türkiye entered the year 2023 with the news of the reduction in industrial electricity. With the announcement it published the day before the beginning of the year, EMRA announced that while the electricity tariff used in industry was discounted by 16%, there would be no increase in residential subscribers.

Meanwhile, BOTAŞ reduced the natural gas tariff for electricity generation by 12.73%. The gas used in residential consumption was not increased. Let us also remind you that currently 80% of the natural gas bills used in the residences are subsidized.

Since we are always faced with the news of price hikes during the energy crisis, the discounts are of great news value. For this reason, I first touched on this subject. However, much more strategic issues await Türkiye in 2023. The first is that some of the gas discovered in the Black Sea will enter the system. Let's note that the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Turkish Petroleum (TPAO), and BOTAŞ are working hard on this issue. In this period when the energy crisis has deepened and energy is used as a weapon, every cubic centimeter of natural gas has strategic importance. In this respect, let's not forget that the perceptual importance of each unit of domestic gas that will enter the system is more valuable than its financial importance.

Another huge energy project of Türkiye is the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. It will be the subject of a separate article that the project has survived which problems and who made efforts to delay it with what motive. However, let us remind you once again that the first reactor in Akkuyu will come into operation this year and start producing electricity.

Wherever there is an event titled energy in the world, you will definitely see that Türkiye's distance covered in renewable energy in a short time and its potential are among the most important agenda items. Indeed, Türkiye has made serious strides in this regard and has recently been implementing new strategies step by step.

One of these new steps was the regulation brought by EMRA regarding the storage of electricity generation facilities. According to the latest regulation, EMRA started to receive applications as of 19 November 2022. The total investment demand of associate degree applications made to EMRA in this regard has exceeded 230 billion dollars. While there is an investment upper limit of 40-45 billion dollars according to the current capacity, the demand for 230 billion dollars should be evaluated as an indicator of confidence in Türkiye's potential in energy.

In the words of EMRA Chairman Mustafa Yılmaz, storage technologies are very important to increase supply security. In this regard, the investments planned to be realized within the scope of the call opened have strategic importance as they will further reduce Türkiye's dependence on foreign energy.