EU Progress Report on Turkish Energy Sector

Here are some comments and thoughts after a brief review of the latest EU Progress Report on Turkish energy sector developments

"Some progress has been achieved in the field of energy," said the progress report on Turkey which was released by the European Commission on November 8th, 2006 last week. "So progress" is to be noted.

It noted, "preparations are fairly advanced with regard to security of supply. Turkey's oil stocks, however, are not calculated according to EU methodology. The Baku-Tbilisi- Ceyhan oil pipeline became operational. " So "securty is the most important key issue at EU side.

"Some progress has been made as regards the internal energy market. The privatisation process of distribution assets has started for three regions. Implementing regulations were enacted on electricity demand forecasting, and cross-border electricity trade. The threshold for eligible consumers has been reduced to 6 GWh. A new amendment, however, allows cross-subsidies and vertical integration. High
electricity losses, including theft, persisted," the report said. These are well known facts of our local market, so necessary measures are to be taken.

"Two six-hour blackouts occurred in July affecting 13 cities, mainly due to generation capacity constraints. Unchanged electricity tariffs in the context of rising gas import prices may in the short term result in real capacity reductions," it stated. We understand that they watch our environment very carefully.

The report indicated, "Turkey is not yet a member of the Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Energy. Turkey has not signed the Energy Community Treaty establishing a regional energy market in southeast Europe."

That is for "EU safety" on energy transmission

It said, "regarding the internal gas market, no new implementing legislation has been issued. Some liberalisation took place: in-city natural gas distribution tenders were undertaken for 54 cities. The market share of any importer or wholesaler is limited by law to 20%.

The state-owned company BOTAS has not transferred existing contracts and maintains its monopolistic position. Overall alignment in these areas is well underway, however implementation is lagging behind."

The report indicated, "concerning state aids to the coal industry, no progress can be reported. Alignment in this area is low." They are not well informed on that issue.

It noted, "some progress has been made on renewable energy sources. " This is a very loose statement. This statement is given by Green MPs of EU.

"However, Turkey has not set itself an ambitious target yet for their increase. An implementing regulation on the guarantee of origin has been issued. Turkey is partially aligned in this area."

"Regarding nuclear energy, Turkey's capacity to fulfil acquis requirements is fairly advanced. Turkey has no nuclear power generation plants yet, but has announced plans to promote the construction of a capacity of 5000 MW by 2020. The independence of
the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) needs attention. Supervisory responsibilities are not separated from research and the promotion of nuclear energy. Turkey has reached a considerable degree of alignment as regards nuclear safety and radiation protection," it stated.

"No new implementing regulation has been enacted. Substantial upgrading of existing facilities will be needed, including radioactive waste management and storage facilities. Turkey has not acceded to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, to which Euratom became a contracting party in January 2006," the report indicated.

"Some progress has been achieved in the field of energy. Overall, alignment is uneven. A framework law for energy efficiency remains to be developed," the report added. That is to say "we closely watch the developments of any activity in the energy sector of Turkey, since it is vital tour energy safety at our end"

That sensivity is carefully noted at our end. This is for records