Türkiye has raised household electricity and natural-gas tariffs by as much as 25 per cent, pushing a fresh wave of energy costs on to consumers at a delicate moment for the economy, with inflation still above 30 per cent and policymakers trying to steady the lira after renewed market strain. The new tariffs were announced on April 3 and took effect on April 4. The Energy Market Regulatory Authority said retail electricity prices for residential users would rise 25 per cent. Prices for public and private service-sector subscribers connected at low voltage were lifted 17.5 per cent, industrial users connected at medium voltage 5.8 per cent, and agricultural users 24.8 per cent. Under the new schedule, a household consuming 100 kilowatt-hours a month will now pay 323.8 lira.
On the gas side, BOTAŞ raised wholesale prices so that household natural-gas tariffs increase by an average of 25 per cent, while industrial users face an average rise of 18.61 per cent and gas sold to power generators goes up 19.42 per cent. The state importer has also moved households to a two-tier system from April 4, with a lower tariff for lighter consumption and a markedly higher tariff above the threshold, alongside a discounted rate for eligible families of martyrs and veterans.
Authorities presented the move as a response to persistent increases in electricity generation and distribution costs as well as higher wholesale gas prices. That explanation fits a wider pattern now confronting many governments, as import costs rise after the conflict centred on Iran sent oil and gas markets sharply higher. Brent crude was trading above $110 a barrel on April 6, while European wholesale gas prices had roughly doubled since the war began on February 28.
For Ankara, the timing is awkward. Official data showed consumer-price inflation eased to 30.87 per cent year on year in March, but transport and food remained major drivers, and higher utility bills now risk feeding into a broader price rebound. In meetings with investors in London last week, Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek defended the authorities’ response to the external shock, after the central bank halted its easing cycle at 37 per cent and lifted its overnight rate to about 40 per cent to support financial stability.
The increase also underlines Türkiye’s structural exposure to imported energy. Estimates published last month put oil and gas imports at about 3.5 to 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product, while S&P Global raised its average inflation forecast for 2026 to 28.9 per cent from 23.4 per cent because of the energy shock. The same assessment highlighted Türkiye’s gas supplier mix, with Russia providing 37 per cent of imports, Azerbaijan 21 per cent and Iran 14 per cent, leaving the country vulnerable when regional supply routes tighten or benchmark prices jump.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said last month that Türkiye’s direct dependence on Middle Eastern oil was about 10 per cent and that there had been no immediate disruption to oil or gas supplies, though he acknowledged the risk of future problems if the regional crisis deepened. He also said every $1 rise in oil prices adds roughly $400 million to the country’s energy bill, a measure of how quickly external price swings can spill into the domestic economy.
There are some buffers, but none large enough to cancel the pressure altogether. Hydroelectric plants supplied 40 per cent of Türkiye’s electricity in March, nearly double the level a year earlier after heavy rainfall, easing some of the immediate strain on gas-fired generation. Ankara is also trying to expand domestic production from the Black Sea’s Sakarya field and reduce its long-term import bill as part of a wider push for supply security, yet the country still covers more than 90 per cent of its energy needs through imports.
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MENA