Price hike alarm for natural gas and electricity: Bills will burn pockets

The possibility of new hikes in natural gas and electricity has come to the agenda. Increasing risks in global energy markets and the rise in oil prices are increasing the pressure on Turkey's energy import costs.

The Dutch TTF, which is monitored as Europe's reference natural gas price, rose to the level of 70 Euros per megawatt-hour on August 31. Trading above 73 Euros on September 2, the TTF saw its highest levels since January 2023.

Due to the fact that the weight of the TTF in the natural gas imported by Turkey is 48.56 percent, how this rise will be reflected in BOTAŞ's October and winter period tariffs is being closely monitored. Turkey consumes approximately 55-60 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually and meets a significant portion of its needs through pipelines and LNG imports.

EYES ON BOTAŞ TARIFFS

Enerji IQ CEO Emre Ertürk stated that there are strong signals increasing vulnerability in terms of energy prices in global markets, saying, "This movement continues to affect the agenda of the markets before October, November, and December, which are the last quarter of the year including the winter period."

BOTAŞ last raised natural gas prices in April. During the same period, a tiered tariff system was introduced for residential subscribers; subscribers exceeding the consumption limit determined on a provincial basis began to be billed at a higher unit price.

Energy management sources state that gas is provided to residential subscribers at subsidized prices and that it is aimed to reduce this subsidy gradually. Sources express that there is a need for high-rate hikes in natural gas and electricity, but that no decision has been made yet regarding when and to what extent this will be reflected in the tariffs.

News Source: 12punto