Minister Bayraktar's 2025 Message: "We Will Make Turkey Energy Independent"
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar presented the budget of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources for 2025 in the Turkish Grand National Assembly's Planning and Budget Commission. During the presentation, Bayraktar shared significant data, outlining achievements in the energy sector and future plans.
Recalling that last year they announced a daily gas production of 3.8 million cubic meters from the Sakarya Gas Field, Bayraktar noted that this figure has now nearly doubled, reaching 7 million cubic meters. He emphasized that the total daily domestic production has risen to 8 million cubic meters, thereby meeting the needs of 3.5 million households with domestic natural gas production.
Bayraktar stated that Turkey has an average annual natural gas consumption of 50 billion cubic meters and a supply capacity of 80 billion cubic meters. "Turkey has now become a central country in energy, producing its own gas, ensuring diversification of sources and routes, gaining export capability thanks to its strong infrastructure and supply portfolio, contributing to Europe's supply security," he said. He highlighted the significance of the steps taken towards becoming an energy center, stating that these developments further strengthen the country's energy security.
Bayraktar mentioned that Turkey's electricity demand has increased by an average of 4.4% over the past 20 years, reaching 335 billion kWh. He indicated that the installed electricity capacity has been raised to 114,600 MW through policies and regulations implemented to meet this demand. "In the last 20 years, we have essentially built almost three new Turkeys in the energy sector," he remarked, drawing attention to the revolutionary developments in the sector.
On the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and energy efficiency investments, Bayraktar noted that the realization of Turkey's 70-year dream has come with the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which is expected to meet 10% of the country's electricity needs and prevent 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas imports and 35 million tons of carbon emissions when fully operational. He conveyed that Akkuyu has created a significant transformation in the energy sector and that this project will greatly contribute to the country's energy independence.
Bayraktar announced the implementation of an action plan covering the period of 2024-2030 in energy efficiency, stating that both the public and private sectors will invest over 20 billion dollars in energy efficiency by 2030. He said these investments are expected to yield energy savings worth 46 billion dollars over the next 15 years.
Regarding government support for energy bills, Bayraktar stated that the state covered 328 billion Turkish Lira in electricity and natural gas bills in 2023 and 275 billion Turkish Lira in the first 10 months of 2024. He noted that there is a 60% support on the lower tier and 40% on the higher tier for residential electricity, while natural gas receives a 63% support rate, emphasizing the importance of this assistance to citizens.
Bayraktar also detailed support measures for low-income households, stating that assistance is provided for up to 150 kWh monthly based on the number of people in a household. He mentioned that since the beginning of 2024, 4.1 million households have received 8.1 billion Turkish Lira in electricity consumption support, and 654,000 households have received 1.4 billion Turkish Lira in natural gas consumption support. Additionally, he added that the distribution of a total of 1.4 million tons of coal is planned for 1.6 million households, and coal distribution is ongoing.