Energy Ends The Competition

That sentence, which is undoubtedly one of the most well-known dialogues of action scenes in science fiction movies and which increases the tension, is always in our ears "our captain energy is about to run out". In our world, the situation is not that different. Coals, petroleum, natural gas, geothermal resources, which are underground energy resources, have become energy sources where alternatives are sought today, both because of their costs and their regional distribution. Investments for solar and wind energy sources, which are aboveground energy sources, are made continuously. Wind vines have already replaced trees, and solar panel fields have already replaced wheat. Every state continues to hunt for cheap, clean and easily available energy. The continuation of life and the sustainability of the economy are under the hegemony of energy resources. Electricity affects daily life and production in direct proportion.

Plastics Industrialists' Association (PAGDER) Chairman Selçuk Gülsün said: “Our industry may lose its competitive power if no measures are taken regarding energy costs, which have increased by more than 100 percent in the last 24 months”. Industrial electricity prices increased by 110% in 2 years! Emphasizing that they are among the sectors that use the most energy as the plastics industry, Gülsün said: “Although inflation was 20.3% in 2018 and 11.8% in 2019, industrial production inflation experienced much harder. Because when we examine the last 2 years, we see that industrial electricity prices have increased by 110%. While housing consumption is constantly supported, we do not find the approach of increasing the energy costs of the industry, which is a must for development, right. "This increase in energy costs makes things even more difficult as we are going through a very weary process for our enterprises where the capital structure is not strong enough."

We are the only country where industrial electricity is more expensive than residential electricity! Selçuk Gülsün stated that the industrial electricity price is more suitable than residential electricity all over the world in order to support production: “When we examine the European Union countries from Eurostat data, we see that on average, industrial electricity is 44% cheaper than residential electricity. Similarly, EIA data, the official agency that announces energy prices in the US, reveals that the unit price of industrial electricity is 51% cheaper than residential electricity. In our country, the opposite is the case. Since the beginning of 2019, industrial electricity has exceeded the price of residential electricity. According to EPİAŞ data, the price increase in residential electricity has been 50.2% since 2018, while the price increase in industrial electricity has been more than twice that. As a result of these hikes, the unit price of industrial electricity rose by 9% over residential electricity. It is essential that a step be taken in this regard in order to support production and that industrial electricity is cheaper than residential electricity, as is the case in all countries where we compete ”. When we examine the period since the beginning of 2018, Selçuk Gülsün added that there is an increase in energy prices that will cause the country's industry to lose its competitiveness: “In dollar terms, industrial electricity prices in the US have decreased by 6% since 2018, while in our country, 43% on dollar basis. there was an increase. As a result of this development, industrial electricity in the USA has become 46.9% cheaper than our country. Due to the fact that the increase in electricity prices is unique to our country, our industry loses its competitive power and faces losses in export markets. In order for our enterprises to continue to contribute to production, employment and export while maintaining their power in global competition, the prices of industrial electricity should be regulated in a way that maintains our competitiveness ”.

Continuing his words, Gülsün continued: “There are two different contract options in electricity supply, one is YEKDEM, the variable price option calculated on the market clearing price (PTF) and distributor commission and the other is the fixed price contract option. In periods when YEKDEM prices increase, PTF prices decline and become a balancing factor. Although the tariff with YEKDEM has offered more advantageous prices in 17 months of the 28-month period since 2018, it has problems for industrialists as it makes it difficult to estimate costs. For this reason, we recommend that the senior management of the enterprises be involved in the contract decisions ”.

As of September 2020, electricity hikes seem to be very difficult for individual and corporate consumers.