Türkiye will lower the annual electricity consumption threshold for households to qualify for the subsidized national tariff to 3,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2027, the country's energy regulator said Friday.
Türkiye has subsidized electricity usage for years, and government officials have repeatedly said that households have cheaper energy than in neighboring countries.
Over the last three years, it has been transitioning to a more targeted system, prioritizing low-consumption households while gradually reducing support for higher users.
The annual electricity consumption threshold was set at 5,000 kWh for 2025 and 4,000 kWh for 2026.
The new move is expected to shift around 6.5 million households to a higher-cost tariff, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) said.
The new limit, equivalent to an average monthly consumption of 250 kWh, will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. At that level of consumption, the average monthly electricity bill is estimated at around TL 820 ($16.42).
The change is expected to affect 14.7% of Türkiye's 44.2 million residential electricity subscribers. They will be classified as high-consumption users and charged under the final resource supply tariff rather than the subsidized national tariff.
The system was introduced in 2018 and had remained high for years, enabling all household subscribers to qualify as low-consumption users.
The new threshold will not apply to agricultural consumers, while the existing annual limit of 15,000 kWh will remain unchanged for industrial users, public and private services and lighting subscribers, the EPDK said.
Certain residential subscribers will also be exempt, including mosques and other places of worship, associations, families of martyrs, veterans and disabled veterans.
The exemptions also cover village drinking-water facilities, temporary accommodation centers operated by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), and consumers who rely on electrically powered dialysis support units, respirators and similar life-support devices.
EPDK said the decision does not involve any change to electricity prices under the national tariff itself.
Although the new arrangement takes effect in the new year, household electricity use throughout 2026 will also be taken into account when determining which subscribers move to the higher tariff.
Under the transition schedule, households that first exceed the 3,000 kWh annual threshold in October 2026 will be switched to the new tariff from Jan. 1, 2027. Those reaching the limit in December will move to the higher tariff from March 1, 2027.
Households that remain below the threshold in 2026 but exceed 3,000 kWh in June 2027 will be transferred to the higher tariff from Sept. 1, 2027.
As a result, the change will take into account electricity consumption recorded both in 2026 and in 2027.
