Gov’t nears finishing electricity grid sales

DİYARBAKIR - Anadolu Agency

Ministers and the new owner of the Dicle power distrbution grid pose.

The government took another step toward the electricity grid network’s privatization by handing over Dicle Elektrik, the electricity distributor operating in southeastern provinces, to its new owner in a ceremony.

The İşkaya Doğu joint venture, which founded a parent company called Dicle Enerji Yatırım, had placed the highest bid for the privatization of Dicle Elektrik, with a $387-million proposal. At the ceremony on July 24, the company took over the rights of providing electricity for 1 million subscribers living in the southeastern cities of Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Mardin, Batman, Siirt and Şırnak.

The government has privatized 21 of the electricity distribution companies and has approached the end.
“With a last grid we will hand over in August, the privatization of power distribution grids will be completed,” Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said at the handover and signature ceremony.

Şimşek said the privatization of power procurement benefitted both the government and the consumers, as the state’s financial burden was eased and allocation of more investment in public services was enabled, the consumers get to have a better service.

The leakage and losses reaching up to 70 percent remain a major problem for southeastern provinces.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Turkish energy Minister Taner Yıldız said the transfer would probably help to take necessary measures to avoid this. If the eastern province of Van and Dicle region were excluded, the amount of stray and lost power would drop to 9.4 percent, Yıldz said, which was under the average of 27 European countries.