Crisis at Soma Thermal Power Plant: Production halted, claims that Minister Bayraktar 'kicked executives out of the meeting'

The Soma Thermal Power Plant, owned by Konya Şeker, which houses famous brands such as Torku, has halted production. Due to the company's inability to pay its 18 billion TL coal debt to the state-owned Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKI), no new coal shipments have been made for months.

Konya Şeker had purchased the power plant in 2015 for 685 million dollars. However, in the intervening period, the company became unable to pay its debts. Difficulties in coal supply, particularly in recent months, have brought energy production to a standstill.

Reporting on the developments, Tarımdan Haber Editor-in-Chief Sadettin İnan wrote that three critical meetings were held in Ankara last week between Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar and Konya Şeker officials.

The first of these meetings was held with the Konya Şeker delegation, the second with unions in Soma, and the third with mining companies in the region.

REACTION FROM MINISTER BAYRAKTAR

The greatest tension during the Ankara meetings occurred when Konya Şeker executives argued that "TKI continued to provide us with coal, which is why the debt increased." Angered by this justification, Minister Bayraktar accused the company's management of "incompetence in operating the power plant."

According to information reported by Sözcü, Bayraktar did not hide his anger during the meeting and ordered the executives of Konya Şeker and Anadolu Birlik Holding to leave the room.

News Source: 12punto