EMRA's board decisions on the subject were published in the Official Gazette.
Accordingly, changes were made in the procedures and principles regarding the support of research, development and innovation activities of companies distributing electricity and natural gas. With the regulation of EMRA, the scope of expenses and expenditures that can be covered from the R&D budgets of distribution companies has been redefined.
It is essential that P&D expenditure be used to cover the expenses related to product, software, equipment, systems, materials or technologies resulting from research, development and innovation activities, pre-mass production prototype product development, verification and validation tests, software performance and cyber security tests, pilot applications, certification processes, field demonstrations, localization activities, software development, licensing, integration, digital platform development, protection of intellectual and industrial property rights, type tests and accreditation certificates and pre-commercialization maturation studies within the scope of P&D activity. It will happen.
P&D activities of distribution companies within the scope of the said procedures and principles will be covered from the R&D budget determined within the framework of the relevant legislation and approved by the board. P&D activity will be carried out following the approval of the commission.
Expenses and expenditures exceeding the amount of support provided by the relevant institution or organization can also be covered from the R&D budget, limited to the unsupported part of the distribution company's project budget.
In addition, expenses and expenditures up to 10 percent of the R&D budget of the distribution company during the tariff application period can be covered from the R&D budget.
Expenses deemed reasonable for projects rejected at the application stage and expenses for establishing an R&D Center, Design Center and Incubation Center may also be included in the scope of support within the specified conditions.
Expenses for entrepreneurship activities, incubation centers, acceleration programs, idea competitions, training and dissemination studies, and national and international fairs, events and technoparks will also be evaluated within the scope of the regulation.
Upper limit of 1.5 million lira per patent
If a patent is obtained as a result of the realization of the R&D project approved by the Commission, the amount corresponding to 5 percent of the approved project budget per patent, not to exceed 1 million 500 thousand liras per project, will be added to the R&D budget of the relevant distribution company.
The amount in question will be indexed to the CPI value of July 2026 and updated according to the CPI value of the month in which the patent was received.
With the regulation, the application process for P&D activities was also rearranged. Accordingly, an application for the P&D activity will be made within 3 months from the submission of the final report of the relevant R&D project. P&D activities will start with the approval of the commission.
EMRA also made changes in the CPI application regarding the calculation of R&D and P&D expenditures. Accordingly, the budget proposal for R&D expenditure will be based on the CPI value of the month before the application month of the relevant R&D project. At the expenditure stage, the calculation will be made by taking into account the CPI value of the month before the actual expenditure month.
In addition, the budget and expenditures for all applications made to the institution will be based on the CPI value of the month before the application date.
