TÜSİAD head urges fair price for energy

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Ümit Boyner attends the presentation of World Energy Outlook 2012, urging on reasonable energy prices to improve competititveness.­

High quality energy sources should be provided at reasonable prices and used efficiently in order to improve the competitiveness of sectors, the president of the Turkish Industrial and Business Association (TÜSİAD) president said yesterday.

“Turkey ranked top among OECD countries in terms of the fastest growing demand of energy in the last ten years, although it is ranked 21st in primary energy consumption,” said Ümit Boyner at the presentation of World Energy Outlook 2012 report in Istanbul.

Turkey has seen the second fastest demand increase after China in electricity and natural gas since 2002.
Boyner said the security of the energy supply depended on a balanced composition and competitive prices for sustainable development, which is the present generation’s duty to future generations. “For this reason, quality energy sources should be provided to sectors - most notably industry - at reasonable prices to improve competitiveness, and this should be used efficiently,” Boyner said.

Renewable energy for sustainable development
She also said the security of energy supply and sustainable development were vital issues facing states.
“Despite economic progress, we still do not benefit enough from our renewable energy resources. It looks difficult to reach the targeted capacity by using just energy from the wind and the sun. We should accelerate investment in domestic resources, particularly renewable energy, in order to achieve sustainable development and a current account balance,” she said.

In order to provide security of energy supply, Boyner stressed that production and infrastructure investments should be implemented as planned.

She also said an energy exchange protocol had been signed between the Turkish Electricity Transmission Company (TEİAŞ) and the European Energy Exchange, adding that this would create Turkish energy exchange in accordance with the European system. “It is important to form a reference price within a free market. An energy exchange is the most efficient way to form a transparent and market-based reference price,” Boyner said.

The other essential condition for energy supply security in long term predictability is stable markets, said Boyner, emphasizing that the privatizations in the electricity production sector should be completed urgently. However, this process should not limit competition or consumers’ rights and should raise efficiency, she said.