Energy minister says Turkey unlikely to raise electricity prices

The energy markets regulator each quarter reviews input costs to determine whether to change the price at which the state power company sells electricity.

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The government lowered electricity prices for households and industry on April 1.

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“We're not planning a price increase for electricity from July 1,” Yildiz told reporters.

Global oil prices have risen to around $70 per barrel in recent weeks, having fallen to around $33 early this year, prompting expectations Turkey could raise power prices. Natural gas, used to fire half of Turkish power stations, is pegged to the price of oil.

This month's increase in the cost of oil has not yet been reflected in Turkish gas prices. The state pipeline operator Botas slashed gas prices by about 25 percent in May. Turkey imports about 95 percent of the gas and oil it consumes.

Turkey switched to an automatic pricing mechanism last year that links increases in electricity rates to global oil and gas prices, as well as inflation and the exchange rate, in a bid to encourage more production.

Prior to the mechanism, power stations had complained of losses as the government kept power prices the same for almost six years to curb inflation, while gas rose more than 40 percent.