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TURKEY
Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA)

country map

Key Statistics (2010)

Population	73 722 988 (end of 2010) Source: State Planning Organization (SPO)
GDP/Capita	$ 8 578 (2009) $ 10 043 (2010 programmed)
Generation	Fossil fuel: 73.7% Hydro: 24.5% Wind: 1.3% Other Renewables: 0.5%
Electricity Market Size	approx. 210 TWh in 2010
Surplus Installed Capacity over Demand	15 199 MW
Net Electricity Exports/Imports
Natural Gas Consumed	App. 37.4 BCM (2010)
Natural Gas Imported	App. 38.2 BCM (2010)
Natural Gas Consumption Forecast for 2011	39 bcm

Summary

EMRA was established in 2001, it employs currently 442 staff members

EMRA’s decision-making body is the Board, comprising 9 members including the President and the Vice-President. There are 9 departments and about 442 personnel including 98 administrative staff (excluding the Board members) assigned in the Authority. The President, the Vice-President and the Board Members are appointed by the Council of Ministers for 6-year terms. Re-appointment is possible.

EMRA is financially from Licensing, license renewal, license amendment and annual license fees, revenues from publications and miscellaneous revenues, grants provided by international institutions, a portion of the fines, transmission surcharge constitute the revenues of EMRA.

EMRA regulates the electricity, natural gas, downstream petroleum and liquefied petroleum gas markets.

Industry and Market Structure

Electricity

Bilateral contracts market completed with a day-ahead and balancing market.
A fully unbundled one transmission company, which acts as system operator and market operator, besides holding transmission assets.
21 distribution companies operating in 21 regions. Distribution companies are incumbent retailers. Account unbundling prevails.
Regulated third party access regime for both transmission and distribution is in place.
214 generation companies, 140 autopoducers, 79 wholesalers and 21 retailers are registered to market operator.
Beside transmission and distribution tariffs, retail tariffs to captive consumers, retail sale services tariffs and wholesale price of state-owned wholesale company are regulated.
Eligibility threshold is set by the Energy Market Regulatory Board. (30 MWh for 2011, which corresponds to 75% market opening degree)

Natural Gas

Rules regarding the transparent market entry conditions in place. Network code is in place. Capacity allocation is made on entry-exit system for one year base.
Non-discriminatory TPA employed.
Gas is mainly imported from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan via pipelines and from Nigeria and Algeria in the form of LNG, as well as spot LNG. 26 of 38 import licenses granted as spot LNG import licenses.
Domestic production is very limited approximately 0.6 BCM for 2010.
Half of the gas consumed used in power generation.
60 distribution licenses granted, where 53 of them are selected thru a competitive bidding process of EMRA.
Some amount of gas contracts have been released so far.
2 LNG facilities and one underground storage facility working.

Current Energy Issues

Day-ahead market will start to operate in May 2011.
Privatization tenders for electricity distribution regions completed. 9 of 21 regions is waiting to be transferred to private entities.
Generation assets, 45 units with total capacity of 16.201 MW, are to be privatized.
Electricity distribution companies will be legally unbundled by 2012.
Establishment of an electricity exchange is considered.
Gas import regime is being reviewed to allow respective licensed entities import gas without any country of origin limitation.
Largest gas distribution company expected to be privatized.
Legal unbundling of BOTAŞ is under review.
Engineering projects of Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) for underground storage is completed. The process of tendering is being prepared.