Turkey raises electricity and gas prices by 50%
The Turkish authorities announced today, Thursday, that the prices of electricity and natural gas for households will be raised by about 20% and about 50% for the industrial sector, which has increased pressures on inflation, which reached nearly 80% in July.
The increases are expected to push inflation up by 0.8 percentage points, according to Reuters calculations, while higher industrial prices also indirectly raise inflation as producers pass costs on consumers.
The Turkish Energy Regulatory Authority said it raised household electricity prices by 20 percent, by 30 percent for the public sector and services, and 50 percent for the industrial sector.
State-owned energy importer BOTAŞ said it raised the price of natural gas for domestic use by 20.4 percent, 47.6 percent for small and medium industrial production companies, and 50.8 for large industrial users.
Botas said that the price of gas used to produce electricity rose by 49.5 percent.
The Energy Regulatory Agency and BOTAŞ attributed the price increases to the conflict in Ukraine and global developments, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turkey relies almost entirely on imports to meet its natural gas and oil needs.
The rise in global energy prices this year, as well as the sharp decline in the lira - 44 percent in 2021 and more than 27 percent this year - have led to higher prices locally.
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