"Türkiye's electricity infrastructure requires an investment of 50 billion dollars in 10 years"

Electricity Distribution Services Association (Elder) President Barış Erdeniz stated that they foresee a need for at least 50 billion dollars of investment in the electricity distribution infrastructure in Türkiye in the next 10 years, and stated that they aim to invest approximately 22 billion dollars in the next 5 years.

In his speech at the "1st Innovation, Dissemination and Entrepreneurship Days in the Electricity Distribution Sector" event organized in cooperation with the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) and Elder, Erdeniz said that the increasing use of electricity in transportation, industry, heating and cooling and data centers has changed energy consumption habits.

Erdeniz explained that simultaneous charging of electric vehicles creates sudden power demand in the grid, and transferring the excess electricity produced from solar panels to the grid changes the energy flow, and defined this transformation as "Distribution 2.0".

Erdeniz said, "This is exactly the transformation we call 'Distribution 2.0': Transition from a structure that only carries electricity to a smart, flexible and durable platform that instantly monitors production and consumption, adapts to bi-directional energy flow, and transforms data into business decisions." he said.

50 BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT NEED IN 10 YEARS

Stating that 11.2 billion dollars of investment has been made in the electricity distribution sector in the last 5 years, and that investments exceeded 2.5 billion dollars in 2025 alone, Erdeniz announced his targets for the next period.

Erdeniz said, "We aim to invest approximately 22 billion dollars in the next 5 years, including large-planned repairs, maintenance and investments. We foresee that there is a need for at least 50 billion dollars of investment in the distribution infrastructure in the next 10 years." he said.

619 R&D PROJECTS IN ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY

Stating that 619 R&D projects were accepted in the field of electricity in the 2014-2026 period with the support of EMRA, Erdeniz said that the projects cover areas such as network operation, domestic software, energy efficiency and material technologies.

Erdeniz stated that within the scope of the "You Are My Energy Acceleration Program", 280 startups have been supported since 2019, these startups have created more than 1400 jobs and 40 of them have opened to international markets.

Announcing that they will represent the Turkish electricity distribution sector at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) to be held in Antalya in November, Erdeniz said, "The unseen hero of energy transformation is the grid." he said.