World Bulletin/News Desk

Turkey will privatize five thermic and 49 hydroelectric power plants in the next two years, Turkey’s Privatization Administration Deputy Chairman, Halil Kirsan said Monday in Ankara.  

During in his speech at the seventh International Energy Congress - EIF 2014, Kirsan said Turkey will finalize privatization of Kemerkoy, Yenikoy, Catalagzi and Yatagan thermal plants by the end of this year, and the privatization administration will move on to another 54 power plants through the 2015-2016 period.

Five thermal plants and 49 hydro plants, which have a 10,500 megawatt capacity, will increase the private sector’s share in Turkey’s electricity production mix. Currently, 65 percent of the electricity production share is in the public domain whereas the remaining 35 percent is in private sector hands.

“We aim for electricity production to be fully privatized,” said Kirsan, and added “but we will exclude some internationally strategic hydro plants, especially ones that are located on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Those plants have 7,500 megawatts of capacity,” he said.

Kirsan said that Turkey’s electricity production increased by 6 percent and the country still has a long way to go in the electricity market as Turkey’s electricity consumption per capita is currently at 3,500 kilowatt hours whereas this number is above 10 thousand kilowatt hours in developed countries.