Only days left until the first high-amount natural gas bill... How much will we pay?

As the winter season intensifies, citizens have begun to wonder about their first high-amount bills.

According to a report by Havva Gümüşkaya from BirGün; while residential natural gas sales prices remained stable in the first four months of 2023, three price reductions were made for workplaces in February, March, and April. 

25 CUBIC METERS WILL BE DEDUCTED FROM THE BILL

Between January 2019 and April 2023, BOTAŞ increased natural gas prices for residential use by 358.50 percent. During the same period, the increase in the CPI was 224 percent. Thus, the price of natural gas used in residences was increased by 134.5 points above inflation.

Shortly before the elections, it was announced that 25 cubic meters of monthly natural gas usage would be free for one year starting at the end of April. With this announcement, many households did not pay a natural gas bill during the summer months when natural gas usage was low. Until May 2024, when the free usage period ends, the amount corresponding to 25 cubic meters of usage will be deducted from the bill every month.

AVERAGE CONSUMPTION IS 156 CUBIC METERS

The 25 cubic meters of free usage remains well below the average consumption that increases during the winter months. According to the Gaz-Bir report, an average of 156 cubic meters (m3) of natural gas was consumed per household monthly during the 2021-2022 winter period. Changing weather conditions due to the climate crisis are also increasing average natural gas consumption. The 2021-2022 winter period was the winter with the highest consumption per household in the last 5 years. The monthly average consumption per household for the winter period over the last 5 years was calculated as 145 m3.

The calculation was based on the November-December-January-February-March winter period, and February was the month with the highest consumption. In February 2022, average household consumption reached 195 m3, an increase of 23 percent compared to the previous year.

Monthly average consumption and bill: 

Istanbul: 914 TL

Ankara: 1050 TL

Erzurum: 1268 TL 

Monthly consumption per household: 145 m3

HIGHEST CONSUMPTION IDENTIFIED

In 2022, the province with the highest average consumption per household was Hakkari with 1,484 m3. The provinces with the highest average consumption per household were, in order, Ağrı, Ardahan, Erzurum, and Kars. All of the top 5 provinces were located in the Eastern Anatolia Region.

In 2022, the average annual natural gas expenditure for a household was 6,020 TL. An average of 4,816 TL was spent on heating, and an average of 1,204 TL was spent on hot water and cooking.

If there are no price hikes on natural gas bills until the local elections this year, based on average consumption, a monthly average natural gas bill of 914 TL in Istanbul, 1,050 TL in Ankara, and 1,268 TL in Erzurum will be paid.