Türkiye’s gas storage almost full, says energy minister

ANKARA

Türkiye’s gas storage is almost full and there is no problem regarding energy production, Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez has said.

While Europe is taking unprecedented steps to weather the energy crisis, Türkiye is one of the countries that had predicted the looming problems and taken necessary measures, Dönmez said while speaking at the Eurasia Cogeneration Conference held online on Sept. 22.

“In order to ensure supply security, we renewed contracts with the countries with which our agreements were about to expire and sealed deals for LNG. We also held talks for LNG with the countries we had not engaged in gas trade before,” he added.

Gas storage is almost full in Türkiye and suppliers stick to their delivery schedules, the minister said, adding, Türkiye is not likely to face any problems this winter.

The pandemic once again reminded the importance of relying on domestic energy resources, he stressed.

Local resources and renewables account for 65.4 percent of Türkiye’s installed capacity, while 65 percent of electricity is generated from local resources, Dönmez furthered, adding that there is no problem regarding energy production.

The minister, however, said Türkiye needs to improve the efficient use of energy.

Surveys show that public awareness regarding energy efficiency has increased over the years, Dönmez said. “This is promising, but we are still not where we wanted to be in terms of energy efficiency.”