Pouring Billions into Scrap Power Plants: Whose Interests Are Being Served?

March has come and gone, but its financial impact still lingers. Turkey’s public electricity transmission company, TEİAŞ, recently announced that it paid a staggering 1.894 billion TL to 32 coal and natural gas power plants under the capacity mechanism. Nearly 2 billion lira — an enormous figure. Even more troubling is the fact that most of these plants are outdated, inefficient, and essentially scrap. The harsh reality is that the bulk of this support — 1.343 billion TL — went to natural gas plants. The remaining 551 million TL was directed to coal plants that pollute the environment and worsen Turkey’s carbon footprint. And what for? Just to keep them on standby in case they’re needed. But the cost of maintaining this so-called “reserve” capacity is becoming alarmingly high. So, the question must be asked: Who is Turkey really footing this massive bill for? Are ordinary citizens seeing lower electricity bills? No. Are carbon emissions going down? Quite the opposite. Is there significant investment in new, clean energy technologies? Unfortunately, only a fraction of funds go there. So why — and with what rationale — is this money being funneled into outdated, inefficient power plants? These payments under the capacity mechanism are, in truth, the price of past policy failures in the energy sector. And it’s the public that silently shoulders the cost every month. If even a portion of these billions were redirected toward solar, wind, energy storage, and efficiency, Turkey could develop a far more sustainable, independent energy system. Let’s speak plainly: these scrap plants shouldn’t be kept alive. They should be shut down, and their parts recycled. The nation’s resources should go not into the rusting machines of the past, but into the clean technologies of the future. As taxpayers, we all have both the right and the responsibility to ask: Where is this 2 billion lira going — and who is really benefiting? Ankara 4- May 2025