Natural gas prices will increase

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

A hike in natural gas prices is inevitable, according to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The government has acted with “patience” on gas prices, but the rise in global fuel prices has started to affect the domestic economy, he said, adding that neighboring countries that have not taken the necessary precautions are now facing big trouble.

The media started discussing possible hikes in natural gas and power prices after a large recent hike in the special consumption tax on gasoline, cars and alcohol.

Turkey generates more than half of its electric power from imported natural gas, with Russia standing as the largest supplier. Natural gas is an important fuel for heating in winter, mainly in big cities.

Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said yesterday that a decision on the possible hike would come in five days.
 Turkey is currently planning strong incentives for industrial energy saving projects, Yıldız said at an event in Ankara yesterday. “We will award 300,000 Turkish Liras for each 1 million lira project,” he said.

If only 10 percent of the 52,000 companies in Turkey’s 271 industrial zones made energy efficiency implementations, it would save $1.6 billion annually, cutting natural gas imports by 6 percent, according to Andrea Lockwood, the deputy undersecretariat of U.S. energy ministry, speaking at the same event.

Remarking on the fact that Turkey had recently experienced rapid growth, Lockwood said this required a balance in the energy demand.