ISTANBUL
In July, Türkiye witnessed a 2.1 percent increase in electricity production compared to the same month last year, driven by a rise in the contributions of natural gas and solar energy, which compensated for the declining outputs from hydroelectric and wind power plants.
According to data compiled from the Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEİAŞ), electricity production remained stable while consumption rose by 1.4 percent. Production reached 34.85 million megawatt-hours, while consumption totaled 34.59 million megawatt-hours.
The increase in consumption was primarily attributed to higher cooling needs and air conditioning usage due to hot weather conditions.
The production figures for July showed that natural gas generated 8.69 million megawatt-hours, making it the leading source, followed by imported coal at 7.3 million megawatt-hours. Hydroelectric plants produced 5.67 million megawatt-hours, solar energy contributed 4.1 million megawatt-hours and wind power generated 3.56 million megawatt-hours.
Notably, the most significant production increase came from natural gas, which rose by 1.15 million megawatt-hours. This was followed by solar energy at 1,05 million megawatt-hours and thermal power plants at 797,375 megawatt-hours.
Furthermore, the volume of gas supplied to the network in July increased by 13.6 percent year-on-year, reaching 4,143,816,000 cubic meters.
The local gas extracted from the Sakarya Gas Field is believed to have played a crucial role in meeting the rising demand for natural gas, particularly due to the production decreases in hydroelectric and wind power plants.
This data highlights the growing reliance on natural gas and solar energy in Turkey’s energy mix, particularly as the country seeks to diversify its energy sources.