The calculations on electricity bills have changed.

The regulation amending the Electricity Market Consumer Services Regulation of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) has been published in the Official Gazette. Accordingly, in the regulation, the phrase "low consumption" has been changed to "annual consumption below 100 thousand kilowatt-hours." The definition of low consumption for free consumers was used for free consumers whose annual electricity consumption is below 100 thousand kilowatt-hours. With the change made, this definition has been removed from the regulation.

PLATFORM FOR FREE CONSUMERS TO MAKE BILATERAL AGREEMENTS WITH SUPPLIERS

Under the regulation, free consumers could procure electricity and/or capacity purchases by making bilateral agreements with suppliers. With the new regulation, a platform will be established to allow consumers to examine, compare, and establish bilateral agreements with the offers presented by suppliers, aimed at protecting consumers and increasing competition and transparency. The platform will be established and operated by the Energy Markets Operation Inc. (EPİAŞ). If suppliers submit offers to this platform, a bilateral agreement will be established upon acceptance of the offer by the relevant consumers.

REGULATION ON THE ESTABLISHMENT PROCESS OF SALES CONTRACTS

Changes have also been made to Article 22 of the same regulation regarding retail sales contracts. According to the newly renamed article "Establishment of Retail Sales Contracts," retail sales contracts can be established in writing or remotely. A retail sales contract intended to be established in writing will be established by signing the Contract Establishment Form included in the contract annex either by hand or with a secure electronic signature. A copy of the form will be provided to the consumer on paper or via a permanent data storage device on the day the contract is established. If requested by the consumer, the contract will be established by presenting and signing the entire contract to the consumer.

Examples of the contract and its annexes will be sent via email or through SMS for viewing during the contract period, based on the consumer's request. The relevant contract and its annexes will be stored with a timestamp provided by the TÜBİTAK Public Certification Center. The responsible supply company will notify the distribution company on the same day by recording the established contracts. The burden of proof regarding the establishment of the contract will rest with the responsible supply company.

REGULATIONS ON SECURITY DEPOSITS

Changes have also been made in the calculation of the security deposit. The expression "the consumer who signs a contract with the responsible supply company" has been changed to "under the retail sales contract." Accordingly, the security deposit under the retail sales contract will be calculated based on a unit price determined per kilowatt according to consumer groups, taking into account the power of the facility or usage location. Additionally, according to the newly added regulation, if the consumer is a high-consumption consumer under the last resort supply tariff, the relevant unit prices for the month in which the retail sales contract is established will be taken into account. The principle of paying the entire security deposit in cash upfront has been maintained. However, upon the consumer's request, for consumers in the residential consumer group, as well as for universities, municipalities, and irrigation cooperatives in the public and private service sectors, the security deposit can be paid in two equal monthly installments, while for other consumer groups, the first installment can be paid upfront, and the second installment can be collected at least 30 days later. The responsible supply company will be obliged to ask the consumer whether there is a request for installment payments.

With the new regulation, consumers who have made all bill payments for the last 24 months until the due date, provided that their supplier and consumer group remain the same, will not be required to pay a security deposit if they change their usage location or establish a new residential retail sales contract at a different usage location while their existing contract is still ongoing, and have not engaged in electricity theft during this period.

Additionally, according to the Decision on Providing Electricity Consumption Support to Needy Households, enacted by the Presidential Decision No. 795 dated 27/2/2019, security deposits will not be required for retail sales contracts made on behalf of households that have been granted entitlement to receive monthly or regular social assistance under the Law No. 3294 on Promoting Social Assistance and Solidarity dated 29/5/1986 and the Law No. 2022 on Monthly Grants to Needy, Weak, and Helpless Turkish Citizens Who Have Reached the Age of 65 dated 1/7/1976.

NEW METHOD FOR DETECTING ELECTRICITY THEFT

With the changes made, information obtained from network/infrastructure organizations such as water, natural gas, and internet can be used for detecting and assessing electricity theft. The meter of a consumer found to have committed repeated electricity theft can be replaced with a meter that includes a disconnection system that prevents external intervention by the consumer, or technological methods can be applied to prevent the consumer from connecting electricity. Additionally, if entry to the field for detecting electricity theft is prevented and the relevant situation is recorded with photographs or videos that include date and location information, technological means such as remote reading and monitoring systems used in the distribution network can be utilized for detecting and assessing electricity theft. In this case, necessary corrections can be made by the distribution company when detection is made in the field. Changes have been made to the calculations on electricity bills.