Scorching heat posing risks to power generation

ISTANBUL

Türkiye, like in other parts of the world, is roasting in a dangerous heatwave that experts warn may affect the country’s electricity production.

On July 14, electricity consumption hit more than 1 million kWh, which marked a record consumption for a single day, as households and businesses increased their use of air conditioners to cool off.

This electricity consumption has cost households and businesses 2.8 billion Turkish Liras in a single day, according to daily Milliyet.

Electricity consumption on that day hit its highest level at 4 p.m. at 51,588 MW.

Electric consumption climbed to its all-time high due to a combination of several factors, including the higher use of air conditioners, agricultural irrigation and the industry sector’s power consumption.

Experts warn that Türkiye is already experiencing a dry summer and that if the electricity consumption continues to increase, power shortages could be possible in the regions where consumer power the most, such as the area covering the provinces of Istanbul and the industrial provinces Kocaeli and Bursa as well as southeastern Türkiye.

People put spending on air conditioners on hold before July because the weather was mild and high prices affected the demand for those devices, said Ali Yıldız, the president of the White Goods Retailers’ Association (BEYPER).

“Now demand is much stronger than we expected.”

Yıldız also added that people cannot get an appointment from tech services to get their air conditioners installed. “Seeing this long waiting list. Some consumers give up on buying an air conditioner. But on the other hand, demand remains strong because people anticipate that the heatwave will continue to affect the country.”

According to Yıldız, seven in 10 consumers visiting the whiter goods retailer are inquiring about air conditioners.

Sales increased by 20 percent to 30 percent compared with the previous weeks amid the spike in temperatures, people from the industry said.

The best-selling split air conditioner model sells for between 35,000 Turkish Liras to 40,000 liras, they said, estimating that the size of the air conditioner market will exceed 5 billion liras this year.

Some 1 million air conditioners will be sold in Türkiye this year, according to Ayk Serdar Didonyan, the president of the Airconditioning and Refrigeration Manufacturers’ Association (İSKİD).

Türkiye annually produces 2 million units of split air conditioners, and half of them are exported, he said.

As of the end of May, Türkiye’s installed electricity capacity stood at 104,672 MW, show data from the Energy Ministry.

Hydropower accounted for 30.2 percent of the installed capacity, whereas natural gas’ share was 24.2 percent. Wind and solar power constituted 11 percent and 9.6 percent of the country’s total installed capacity.

There were a total of 12,057 electricity power plants in Türkiye as of the end-May, of which 751 were hydropower plants, 361 wind power plants and 9,979 solar power plants, according to the Energy Ministry.