Performance Appraisal of the Former Energy Minister

Dear Colleagues, Dear Energy Professional,

The Turkish energy policy is widely evaluated in our JTW articles. It is our humble understanding that Success is only measured with more electricity generation capacity than the annual consumption. Turkey had to increase more funds to be allocated to energy and climate research and the related technology.

Turkey has to succeed in finding good, practical solutions for promoting the aspects of energy security as well as environmental sustainability, financial efficiency, the diversity of domestic energy production and its reliance on multiple energy sources, highlighting particularly thermal power, nuclear power, wind power, biomass and hydropower.

Turkey has to have pragmatic approach in meeting the international emissions objectives, and for being capable of combining environmental perspectives with decision-making in the energy sector.

We need to point out following as the related key success factors: successful decision-making, stable financing, strong national and regional research organizations, proactive international co-operation and public-private co-operation.

Our former Energy and Natural Resources Minister has transferred his responsibilities to the new appointee as of last week. He was in this position since 2003.

He graduated from the Department of Metallurgy at the Middle East Technical University (B.Sc. 1972, M.Sc., Ph.D.) and worked as a project engineer and group chairman at Turkish Aerospace Industries. He went on to an academic career as deputy chairman of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. He served as the general director of the Machines and Chemical Industries Board and Etibank.

He was a founding member of the ruling political party. As energy minister as well as the day-to-day running of this important department dealing with Turkey's gas, electricity requirements he had to deal with a number of issues including but not limited to the following matters;

- Privatization of Turkey's energy sector,
- Rehabilitation of aging Thermal Power plants,
- Tendering Turkish Coal fields open to operation against Royalty,
- Tendering Afsin- Elbistan C & D, based on firing local mine mouth local lignite,
- Enquiries into the corruption allegations against the previous government concerning the deal it made to purchase natural gas from Russia, the Blue Stream agreement.
- Negotiating other natural gas purchases with countries Russia, Iran and others. Price has been ever increased and will continue to increase.
- Realization of Nabucco pipeline, securing gas from upstream gas suppliers,
- Legal framework of Renewable energy,
- Plans to build three nuclear power stations in Turkey,
- Country-wide program for energy efficiency improvements,
- Continued oil exploration and investment in hydro-electric power,
- Strategy for the mining of boron, of which Turkey is the world's largest producer,

His job is over. We have no doubt that he was an honest politician, hard-working, devoted to his job. However in retrospect, we do not see any significant increase in electricity generation of the country. It is too difficult to say that his tenure was a successful period.

In the future, more attention should be paid to generation more electricity, constructing more power plants, strengthening the long-term policy measures related to energy security and energy efficiency.

Turkey is to continue taking account of the energy security aspects and to focus – in addition to the security of imported energy supply – on the diversity of domestic energy production and new renewable energy sources.

We hope better performance from the newcomer.

Your comments are always welcome.