Development and restructuring of Turkey's electricity sector: a review

With a young and growing population, low per capita electricity consumption and rapid urbanization, Turkey for nearly two decades has been one of the fastest growing power markets in the world. The main objective of the present study is to review many aspects of the Turkish electricity sector, including its historical development, energy related emissions, and energy and exergy utilization efficiencies. With the foundation of the Republic in 1923, Turkey's electricity sector has grown rapidly from 32.8 MW to 26.1 GW at the beginning of 2000. During this period, different governments implemented various strategies and policies for the Turkish electricity industry. In the 1980s, a new era for the industry and regulations started, allowing the installation of electricity power plants. Regulations allowed different investment models and the decision was taken highly to attract foreign investors. Restructuring of the electricity sector in Turkey has started with the establishment of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) upon law No. 4628 which came into force on 3 March 2001. The Energy Market Regulatory Board, which runs the EMRA, was commissioned on November 19, 2001. In May 2002, the EMRA issued drafts of the Energy Market Licensing Regulation and the Electricity Market Tariffs Regulation, and these regulations went into effect in August 2002. The Electricity Market Implementation Manual was issued by the EMRA in April 2003. At present, not only the electricity sector, but also the whole Turkish energy sector is in a dynamic change. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.