Minimum wage earner spends 3 months' salary on electricity, water, and natural gas
With the latest price hikes, residents in Istanbul are struggling to pay their bills. Those living on minimum wage are forced to allocate a significant portion of their income to these expenses.
12punto
Residents in Istanbul are straining their budgets due to rising energy and internet prices. According to data from the online platform Numbeo, the average monthly electricity, water, and natural gas bill for a person living in an 85-square-meter home is 2,827 lira. This figure does not include the 24.6 percent hike by the EMRA (EPDK) and the 38 percent natural gas hike by BOTAŞ.
The total monthly utility bill for households can reach up to 4,000 lira. Additionally, an average of 487 TL is paid for a mobile package including 10 GB of internet, SMS, and talk time. For home internet usage with speeds of 60 Mbps and above, the average monthly bill is 585 TL. Consequently, a person's total monthly utility expenditure reaches 3,890 TL, amounting to 46,680 TL annually.
Under these conditions, annual utility expenses can climb as high as 66,000 TL. A person working for minimum wage is forced to spend three months of their annual income solely on paying bills. This situation is seriously affecting the living standards of low-income families in particular.