“HOW CAN I REDUCE MY ENERGY COSTS”

MÜSİAD HEAD OFFICE

25 February 2020

My Esteemed Committee Chairmen,

Esteemed MÜSİAD Members,

Distinguished Representatives of the Energy Sector and of the Business World,

I say welcome to our meeting, where we will exchange information and ideas on energy, a matter of strategic importance for our country and of course for the world, and I greet you with respect.

Distinguished Guests,

As energy consumption has increased in recent years not only in our country but all over the world, energy resources and the efficient use of these resources have been opened to discussion.

Today the world is talking about transformation in energy.

Meeting the energy need largely from renewable energy rather than from fossil resources is one of the most important points of this transformation.

On the other hand, the coming to the fore of digitalization together with the powerful transformation experienced in the world in recent years also points to a transformation, a radical change, in the field of energy as well.

Today, as industrialists, while we address matters such as access to energy resources and finding economical resources in energy, on the other hand we must also give weight to ensuring that consumption in our enterprises is carried out in the most correct and most efficient manner.

Because, as you know, “energy cost” is the third largest item in industry after raw materials and personnel.

We will speak about this in detail here today; our committee has important work on this subject.

As MÜSİAD, this is what we say to our industrialists:

Let us no longer merely consume; let us generate our own electricity ourselves. Today we can achieve this very comfortably with alternative energy sources, by installing systems that pay for themselves within 4-5 years. Moreover, generating is not enough; let us also direct this resource in the most correct way and multiply the efficiency we obtain, so that we may bring our costs down and thereby reduce, even if only somewhat, the heavy burden we shoulder as industrialists.

Detailed analyses and figures on matters such as energy production and consumption will be presented throughout our meeting; but I would like to share briefly with you a few figures that I consider important:

When we look at the distribution of Türkiye's annual natural gas consumption by sector, consumption for electricity generation takes first place with a share of %36.9.

While residential consumption comes second with a share of %25.8, the share of the industrial sector stands at %24.3.

The fact that more than one third of the annual natural gas consumption of approximately 50 billion cubic metres goes to electricity generation, and that despite this residential and industrial consumption each amount to about one quarter of consumption, points to the importance of energy saving.

Of our annual electricity generation, %37.3 is obtained from coal, %29.8 from natural gas, %19.8 from hydraulic energy, %6.6 from wind, %2.6 from solar, %2.5 from geothermal energy and %1.4 from other sources.

In other words, approximately %30 of the electricity produced in our country is generated by consuming almost %40 of the natural gas we import.

The share of renewable energy and waste in our electricity generation, on the other hand, stands at only the level of %12.7.

As we express at every opportunity, when we take into consideration the advantages it possesses, Türkiye does not deserve these figures at all. For there is no obstacle whatsoever before our country to compete with its rivals in the world in the field of renewable energy.

For Türkiye, which possesses high potential in terms of renewable energy, making use of this potential is highly important in that it will lead to a reduction in foreign dependency in energy and in the damage done to the environment.

This is another matter for which I hope our gathering here today will be an occasion: as industrialists, the time has now come to take action on the point of access to renewable energy resources and their efficient use.

As you know, foremost among the efforts our state makes to carry energy efficiency higher is the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan.

Within the scope of the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which will be implemented between the years 2017 and 2023, it is targeted to reduce Türkiye's primary energy consumption by %14 in 2023 through 55 actions defined in a total of 6 categories: buildings and services, energy, transport, industry and technology, agriculture, and cross-cutting issues.

The effort put forward and the sensitivity shown by the state at this point are extremely important.

But on the other hand, I believe that if we too, as the business world, address this matter with seriousness, we will cover great ground in a short time.

Distinguished Guests,

Without prolonging my remarks too much, I would like to leave the floor to the experts on the matter.

I thank everyone who contributed to the organization of our meeting, which I believe will be horizon-broadening and productive for the industrial sector and our business world, above all the chairman of the MÜSİAD Renewable Resources and Waste Management Committee, and I greet you all with respect and affection.

Abdurrahman Kaan

President of MÜSİAD