‘Electricity price hike on the way’
Kıb-Tek running at a loss, says Economy and Energy minister
ELECTRICITY bills could go up by “15 to 20 per cent” next month, Economy and Energy Minister Erhan Arıklı indicated on Thursday.
The price hike is necessary, Dr Arıklı said during a TV interview, because the Cyprus Turkish Electricity Authority (KıbTek) is losing 22 kuruş for every kilowatt of electricity it sells, based on a “production cost of 119 kuruş per kW” and a “sale price of 97 kuruş per kW”.
Referring to previous reports that KıbTek had been sold overpriced electrical goods as part of an alleged scam, Dr Arıklı said: “It is this robbery that has bloated bills by at least 30 to 40 per cent.”
When asked about the exact size of the fraud, he said that he has not “exactly read [the report], but it’s serious”. Police and officials investigating the claims had come up against a “blank wall” Dr Arıklı said.
There are Kıb-Tek fraud reports dating back to 2011 where there have been “no developments and the cases remain unsolved” he added.
“The law in the TRNC, unlike the Penal Code [in Turkey], does not distinguish between fraud and ‘qualified fraud’ which [carries a maximum punishment] of life imprisonment”, Dr Arıklı pointed out.
“This is money that comes from your pockets, that has been coming from you for years . . . 30 to 40 percent of the electricity bill you pay goes to these private firms . . . Just yesterday hotel owners came crying to me [about their electricity bills] . . . but I had to give them the bad news that a price hike is on the way.”
Dr Arıklı said that the exact price increases will be determined by a “technical committee” and “based on rules” but will “probably be around 15 to 20 percent”.
A mooted electricity cable connecting the TRNC to Turkey’s grid is the “thing that will save us” he added.
Cemal Özyiğit, leader of the Social Democracy Party, said that Dr Arıklı was planning on increasing the TRNC’s dependency on Turkey and moving it away from energy self-sufficiency.
Later in Parliament Dr Arıklı said that Kıb-Tek had made a loss of 21 million TL in January 2021 and “millions of TL” more due to “fraud” by a company that allegedly sold it “fake spare parts” in 2019.
Tufan Erhürman, leader of the main opposition Republican Turkish Party and a former prime minister, claimed in Parliament that Kıb-Tek had suffered losses of 333 million TL since 2019.
Meanwhile Kıb-Tek board chairman Turan Büyükyılmaz on Thursday dismissed claims by Kubilay Özkıraç, the head of the electricity workers union El-Sen, that the country’s power plants will run out of fuel oil on April 15. Mr Büyükyılmaz said the TRNC currently has enough stocks to last until May 5 and that a shipment of 24,000 tonnes of fuel oil will arrive before April 15.
❐ THERE was further concern for consumers this week as the Turkish lira saw a sharp fall in its value against major currencies. The pound was trading at around 11.1TL yesterday, the highest it has been since November 7, 2020, when it reached over 11.2TL. The volatility occurred after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sacked Central Bank governor Naci Agbal last weekend.