Energy crisis growing in Turkey: Industry hit by power cut due to Iran gas flow

Corona Turkey

26 Jan 2022; MEMO: Turkish industry has been hit by power cut due to energy crisis between Iran and Turkey, Financial Times reports on Wednesday.

According to the report, the Turkish government said it would impose three days of power cuts on heavy industrial users this week.

Last week, it was announced by Turkish media that gas flow from Iran to Turkey had stopped due to technical problem.

According to the report by FT, the Turkish carmaker was among those announcing a halt in production.

Tofas, the Turkish carmaker, part-owned by Fiat Chrysler and Renault, halted their production for 15 days due to the gas cut in the country.

This energy crisis risked hitting key manufacturing sectors, including automotive, steel and textiles.

On the other hand, the state gas importer in Turkey, BOTAS, announced an exemption for companies making crucial goods including medicines, milk and meat products.

Turkey is almost entirely dependent on imported gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Iran, alone, provided 16 per cent of Turkey's natural gas needs in the first 10 months of 2021, according to the latest official data.