1 in 7 households cannot pay their electricity bill
CHP Vice President Ahmet Akın stated that one in seven households in Turkey could not pay their electricity bills, saying, “It will be our priority in our government to create public policies that address energy poverty and provide easy access to energy for people. We see energy as a fundamental right. Instead of managing energy poverty, we will take action to end energy poverty. Energy will cease to be a luxury, it will become a fundamental social right.
Ahmet Akın, in his written statement today, stated that Turkey began to experience a major energy slump, especially after 2018. Noting that the definition of ‘energy poverty’ is made if more than 10 percent of household income is expenses of energy, Akın said:
“TRYING TO PROJECT IT SHORTLY BEFORE THE ELECTIONS”
“The AK Party government is trying to hide the damage it has caused in energy, especially since 2018, with wrong policies and wrong elections, shortly before the elections. This government, which has been raising price after price increase for years, tries to prevent the energy poverty of our country from becoming visible with various promises in the field of energy, especially natural gas from the Black Sea, which is the power of Turkey. The government, which carried out the largest energy increases in the history of the Republic with 200% in electricity and 164% in natural gas in 2022, caused deep energy poverty in Turkey.
“1 IN 7 HOUSEHOLDS CANNOT PAY THEIR BILL”
Although the government tries to hide it, according to official reports and figures, it is seen that households in Turkey have difficulties in accessing energy. Promising cheap, uninterrupted and high-quality energy in 2018, the AK Party remains a bystander to the fact that our citizens are being crushed by energy bills, which is a fundamental right. There were 1,343,109 homes within the scope of support for electricity consumption, which began in 2019. With the wrong policies implemented over the years, especially with the increase in 2022, this number has risen to 3,690. thousand 582 homes. Consequently, the number of households that were unable to pay their bills in the 3 years spanning the period 2019-2022 has almost tripled. According to this government-created picture, one in seven households in Turkey cannot pay their bills.
“ENERGY WILL NO LONGER BE A LUXURY TO BECOME A FUNDAMENTAL SOCIAL RIGHT”
It has become a necessity to redesign energy to overcome energy poverty, ensure security of energy supply in Turkey and realize green energy transformation. In our government, it will be our priority to create public policies that address energy poverty and provide easy access to energy for people. We see energy as a fundamental right. Instead of managing energy poverty, we will take action to end energy poverty. In addition to households, we will breathe a sigh of relief to our farmers and merchants, who make a living from agriculture and commerce and find it difficult to pay their electricity bills. We will implement energy investments sponsored by the public sector with the ‘entrepreneurial state model’ through cooperation with institutions such as municipalities, cooperatives and the private sector. Energy will stop being a luxury, it will become a fundamental social right”. (PHOENIX)