Turkey to hike electricity prices 34 pct as of Oct 1

Turkish Electricity Trading Company's (TETAS) had demanded the price hike as part of Turkey's electricity pricing mechanism, adding that gas prices surged nearly 50 percent since the beginning of 2007 increasing the cost of electricity. TETAS uses gas in the production of electricity.

The Turkish Electricity Distribution Corporation (TEDAS), national electricity distributor, is expected to increase electricity charges in line with TETAS and reflect this to consumers. TEDAS is estimated to increase the price by 15 percent.

The electricity charges will see a total price increase of almost 65 percent in Turkey in 2008 with this increase.

The cost of electricity to consumers has already increased twice in 2008. Consumers were hit with the first 19 percent price hike in January, followed by a second 21 percent increase at the beginning of July.