Türkiye will unveil its "National Energy 2040" vision at a launch in Istanbul next week, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Monday.
The plan envisions about $100 billion of investment in electricity transmission and distribution networks, Bayraktar told an event in Ankara.
"We are entering a new era in which the use of electricity will increase in every area of our economy, from industry to transportation, from buildings to agriculture," he said. Bayraktar noted that the work on the new energy architecture was nearing completion.
The world faces the largest energy crisis of modern times, said the minister, stressing that supplying energy without interruption, reliably and at an affordable cost is a matter of security as well as economy.
He said Türkiye has brought its own oil and natural gas into the economy, expanded renewable capacity, is adding nuclear energy to the system and is using energy more efficiently.
Grids at center
Bayraktar said energy independence cannot be achieved only by owning resources or boosting generation capacity.
"We also need to use the energy we produce at the right time, in the right place and in the most efficient way," he said. That requires a strong electricity infrastructure, smart grids, technology and skilled people, he said, and full independence means transforming the whole system, from generation to transmission, distribution and consumption.
He said electric vehicles, electrified production, artificial intelligence applications and the growth of data centers will raise electricity demand and change its nature. He said energy transition cannot be judged by power plant investments alone.
Transmission and distribution networks, storage, digital technologies and system management must be developed together, he said, and the National Energy 2040 plan, to be unveiled next Thursday, foresees about $100 billion of investment in transmission and distribution.
New industrial zones, growing cities, electric vehicles, rooftop solar systems and the digital economy will create new needs that adding lines and transformers cannot meet, Bayraktar said.
Grids must be able to monitor conditions in real time, forecast demand accurately, respond faster to faults and use existing capacity more efficiently, he said. "The new era in electricity distribution will be one of not only stronger grids but also smarter, more flexible and more resilient ones," he said.
Domestic software, cybersecurity
Bayraktar said developing domestic software and spreading it across the sector is an important part of the transition.
He said research and development budgets the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK), Türkiye's electricity and natural gas regulator, provides to distribution companies contribute greatly to developing local solutions.
Under the 2040 plan, he said, the government wants to see domestic software widely used across distribution infrastructure and protected against cyberattacks.
Global electrification pledge
Bayraktar said Türkiye sees this year's United Nations climate summit COP31 as an opportunity to turn climate goals into concrete investments, projects and international cooperation.
He said one of the main initiatives Türkiye will lead there is the Global Electrification Pledge, which aims to raise electricity's share of global final energy consumption to 35% by 2035.
Strengthening electricity grids will be one of Türkiye's main energy agenda items at the summit, he said. Türkiye aims to deepen international cooperation on modernizing and digitizing distribution networks, integrating renewable energy and financing grid investment.
Bayraktar said its distribution companies have begun operating abroad, and Türkiye wants to make their experience and technology more visible internationally.