25 Jan 2022; MEMO: Some Turkish manufacturing companies have halted production temporarily after Iran cut gas flows last week for up to 10 days due to a technical problem, Reuters reports.
Companies affected include car parts maker Ege Endustri, cardboard manufacturer Kartonsan and defence and automotive parts maker, Katmerciler.
Turkey is almost fully dependent on imported gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, which suspended gas flows to the country last Thursday, saying there was a technical fault at a pressure-boosting station in Turkey.
Ege Endustri said, on Monday, it will stop output at a factory until the weekend due to power cuts, and cardboard manufacturer, Kartonsan, said it was stopping production until further notice, due to limited gas supply.
Katmerciler, on Sunday, said it will halt production during the electricity cut but that it did not expect the planned cut to impact business, without elaborating.
Iran said its gas exports to Turkey had resumed on Friday, but a Turkish official said those supplies were lower than the required volumes. Turkey has denied that the problem was due to a fault at a pressure station on its side.
Turkish authorities have announced planned electricity and natural gas cuts to large consumers in industrial zones and electricity-generating power plants due to limited supply from Iran.
Food producers say a planned 72-hour electricity cut to industrial zones would risk food safety and pose a threat to goods in storage units.
"… Cold storage units need electricity. Energy limitations pose a serious risk to food safety," said the Organic Producers and Manufacturers Union, requesting an exemption from gas and electricity cuts.
Iran provided 16 per cent of Turkey's natural gas needs in the first 10 months of 2021, according to the latest official data.
Energy prices have risen sharply in Turkey, driven by global increases and a 44 per cent decline in the lira's value against the dollar last year.
Electricity prices were raised as much as 125 per cent for high-demand commercial users this month and by around 50 per cent for lower-demand households.
