How electricity bills will rise revealed: EMO explains the 'hidden hike' method

In a statement made by the Chamber of Electrical Engineers, it was said, "Millions of households with an average monthly consumption exceeding 417 kWh will be billed like high-consumption industrial establishments. If the application goes into effect in this form, the bill issued to these households will reach high values that change every month according to the spot market, even if their consumption remains the same."

"IT WILL RADICALLY TRANSFORM THE TARIFF STRUCTURE"

The statement, which noted that the limit is applied as 100 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually for the residential and agricultural consumer group and 1 million kWh annually for other consumer groups for 2024, recalled recent claims that the EMRA (EPDK) will lower the limit for residential subscribers to 5 thousand kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually starting in 2025, stating, "A limit reduction at this level will radically transform the tariff structure. All residential subscribers with an average monthly consumption of 417 kWh, in other words, those paying an average monthly bill of 1050 TL as of October 2024, will fall within the scope of this communique."

The statement, which indicated that EMO calculations have for years assumed that a 4-person family would consume 230 kWh of energy per month for minimum living standards, said, "This value was accepted by the EMRA (EPDK) as 8 kWh per day, corresponding to 240 kWh per month for ease of calculation, and this consumption value began to be used for the low tier. The aforementioned 417 kWh will become a new tier. Millions of households with an average monthly consumption exceeding 417 kWh will be billed like high-consumption industrial establishments. If the application goes into effect in this form, the bill issued to these households will reach high values that change every month according to the spot market, even if their consumption remains the same."

THEY WILL TAKE LEGAL ACTION

While EMO announced that it would take the matter to the judiciary for the cancellation of the regulation in question, it also called on all citizens who will be affected by the change to protect their consumer rights.

The statement also noted that making the service fee uncertain is unacceptable and recorded the following:

"In particular, the cost of the service to be provided to residences where ordinary consumers live cannot be made uncertain. Today, access to energy is accepted as one of the fundamental human rights, and it is accepted all over the world that it is a public service that must be provided cheaply, with quality, and continuously. While these services should be carried out by the public as they are not an ordinary market commodity, they must be maintained under effective public supervision even if they are carried out by the private sector as in the current situation. It is unacceptable for the consumer not to know the unit energy cost in advance in an era where even a restaurant menu is required to be posted at the door.

It is unacceptable for market conditions to be directly reflected on citizens who have no chance to take precautions against rising costs and no chance to transfer these costs to others. Subscribers who consume more than 8 kWh per day in the residential tariff are already paying higher amounts than other subscribers. In this sense, high-consumption households are already paying high bills. We share with the public that as the Chamber of Electrical Engineers, we will take the matter to the judiciary if such a regulation, which also has no legal basis, is made. We also call on all citizens who will be affected by the change to protect their consumer rights."

In the statement made by EMO, it was also emphasized that the public should make direct investments instead of energy tenders containing purchase and price guarantees to limit the effect of energy costs on inflation, and the expressions "To overcome the economic crisis with the least damage, the implementation of a socialist energy program prepared with a development perspective is now a necessity. Within this framework, a vertically integrated public monopoly that will manage all processes in the field of electricity from production to distribution must be re-established" were used.

On the other hand, no official statement has been made by the EMRA (EPDK) regarding the matter yet.