Recent statements by Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar indicated that the scope of state subsidies applied to natural gas bills will change. Bayraktar stated that the current system, which applies the same rate of support to all consumers, aims to differentiate support based on consumption and income group in the coming period.
A Similar Regulation to Electricity is Coming
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, "45% of the natural gas bill is covered by our state, by our treasury."
Bayraktar stated, "We have a similar study for natural gas, just like with electricity. For example, the average consumption in Ankara, Turkey, is approximately 200 cubic meters in January. If you consume 300 cubic meters or 350 cubic meters, we want to remove you from this support group and bring you to a point where you pay the actual cost of natural gas."
Reminding that a similar approach is already being applied to electricity, Bayraktar said that approximately 50% of electricity bills are subsidized by the state. He added that under the last resort supply tariff, which has been in effect for the past 1-1.5 years, support is removed when certain consumption limits are exceeded. According to information shared by Bayraktar, the average annual electricity consumption in Turkey varies between 2400 and 3000 kilowatt-hours. The upper limit, previously set at 5000 kilowatt-hours for 2025, was reduced to 4000 kilowatt-hours for 2026. Bayraktar stated that the segment exceeding this limit constitutes approximately 7% of consumers across Turkey, and this group largely belongs to higher-income brackets and therefore does not require state support.
Bayraktar explained that the planned natural gas system would also be based on monthly consumption, stating that a subscriber could be excluded from support for one month but could rejoin the support group if their consumption falls below the determined limits in the following month. In this respect, the system is envisioned to be designed with a flexible structure.
On the other hand, the Minister emphasized that there is currently no clear decision or set date that will affect everyone's bills. He stated that potential price and support regulations for both electricity and natural gas would be evaluated within the framework of Treasury resources and the 2026 budget. Regarding the timeline for the regulation, Bayraktar said, "We will have made our decisions regarding this in the coming weeks."
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