Turkey: Updated Tariff Application Principles For Electricity Distribution Companies In Turkey

The Board of the Electricity Market Regulation Authority ("Authority") has issued new Procedures and Principles for the Tariffs of License Holder Entities and Authorized Supply Companies in Turkey ("Procedures and Principles"). Changes apply to subscriber groups and tariffs, although these continue to be categorized in a similar way as under previous regulation. The Board's decision, numbered 5999-3 and dated 30 December 2015, was published in Official Gazette number 29570 on 31 December 2015.

Significant changes include:

• "Retail companies" are changed to become "authorized supply companies"
• Restrictions on Residential Subscriber Group:Consumers classified in the residential subscriber group become restricted to only one residence, which must be in their continuous use.
• Short-Term Power Requests:An electric meter will be provided for one month to real and legal persons who require electricity for a short-term business, provided the calculated amount is paid in one installment. The period can be extended up to two months.
• Exclusions from Distribution System Utilization Costs:Costs for meter-reading, losses and leakage are excluded from distribution system utilization costs.
• Reactive Energy Tariff:Reactive energy costs will not charged to subscribers who do not have a reactive energy meter installation.
• Retail Sale Tariffs:To efficiently use transmission and distribution networks, multiple time tariffs will be applied to consumers with sufficient infrastructure, subject to the Board's approval. These will vary between subscriber groups, consumption levels and connection types.

With the new Procedures and Principles, the Procedures and Principles for Tariffs of License Holder Entities and Retail Companies Regulation number 4193 dated 28 December 2012 is repealed. The full text of the Authority's Board decision was published in Official Gazette number 29570 on 31 December 2015 and are available on this link (only available in Turkish.)

Information first published in the MA | Gazette, a fortnightly legal update newsletter produced by Moroğlu Arseven.

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