Turkey's electricity consumption up 27.1 pct in April

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey's electricity consumption increased by 27.1 percent in April, compared to the same month of 2020, according to the latest data released by Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Ministry.

The country's power consumption reached 25.62 billion kilowatt-hours last month and electricity production also increased by 28.2 percent to 25.83 billion kilowatt-hours compared to April 2020.

Out of April's total production, hydro plants generated 31.1 percent while 21.6 percent was derived from natural gas and 15.4 percent from local coal.

The share of imported coal plants in electricity generation was 13.1 percent. Wind plants generated 8.9 percent and the remaining share came from geothermal, fuel oil and biogas plants.

Last month, Turkey's electricity imports from neighboring countries decreased by around 46 percent to 88.77 million kilowatt-hours compared to 163.77 million kilowatt-hours in April 2020.

Electricity exports increased by around 85 percent to 302 million kilowatt-hours.

Turkey's total installed power capacity reached 97.07 gigawatts as of the end of March 2021, according to official figures.

Korkut Öztürkmen, Aksa Energy's deputy chairman cited shutdowns last year due to COVID-19 as the main reason for the high annual increase in electricity consumption.

He emphasized that despite the COVID-19 impact, Turkey still saw positive net growth in electricity consumption, with industrial consumption normalizing faster than other countries.