Turkish industrial representatives continue to warn that production could be at risk if the energy crisis continues to grow.

Turkey might introduce electricity cuts to industrial sites and urge power plants to slash use as neighboring Iran has been supplying only a small amount of gas after the flow was cut over a technical issue.

Iran has been supplying 2 million cubic meters (mcm) of natural gas to Turkey instead of its 28 mcm requirement since exports resumed on Friday, after being cut a day earlier.

Initially, the natural gas use of the factories was restricted by 40% in Turkey, however, following a recent decision, electricity cuts would be imposed in all organized industrial zones (OIZs) across the country as of 12 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 24, and the country's industrial production will stop completely for at least three days.

The first notification regarding the three-day restriction was issued by the Turkish Electrical Transmission Company (TEIAŞ) over the phone to the OIZs, Turkish economics daily Dünya reported Saturday. The report also said, following industrialists' strong reactions against the restrictions, the days were made consecutive after Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez intervened on the businesses' behalf.

The restrictions allows the OIZs to draw enough energy for lighting and heating purposes. On the allotted days, the regions that draw more energy than the determined amount will be cut off by the TEIAŞ and subjected to penalties.

Memiş Kütükcü, head of the Supreme Organization of Organized Industrial Zones (OSBÜK), underlined that the power outages in OIZs continue to challenge the industrialists at a time when production and exports have accelerated and that they, as OSBÜK, are following the issue closely. He added that some officials from Turkey also went to Iran and are trying to fix the problem.

Turkey is almost fully dependent on imported gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Iran fulfilled 16% of Turkey's natural gas needs in the first 10 months of 2021, according to the latest official data.

"The zones are currently making extraordinary efforts to manage this process and to keep the production losses of our industrialists to a minimum. However, despite this, we know that power cuts experienced at a time when production and exports are accelerating will harm the economy and industrial production,” he said.

Orhan Aydın, head of the Middle East Industry and Trade Center (OSTIM) in Ankara told Dünya that they created a cut-off plan that would cause the least damage after meeting with the industrialists, noting that they determined the appropriate method for their members.

Veysel Yayan, secretary-general of the Turkish Steel Producers Association, also told Dünya that notification of the power outage was issued to the sector via an official letter.

The iron and steel sector uses the most electricity in Turkey, and Yayan stated that the power cut meant "every second of power cut was a financial loss" for it.

He said they expect this process to be resolved quickly as it creates an extraordinary, serious problem for the industry.

“We hope that Turkey will overcome the troubled moment as soon as possible. Every second causes material damage, but there is one thing: We do not only live as the steel industry, but we also share this difficulty, the whole industry sector, a problem faced by Turkey. We hope that lessons will be learned from this problem and that we will not encounter similar situations in the coming years,” he said.

An atmosphere of panic is also hanging over in the ready-made clothing industry, which is one of the leading sectors of exports.

Representing more than 18,000 ready-made clothing exporters and exports of more than $20 billion (TL 268 billion), Istanbul Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters' Association Chairperson Mustafa Gültepe said, “The ready-made clothing industry will experience great difficulties in the coming weeks.”

“We are a country that produces fast, delivers fast and is preferred in the world with this feature. Due to power cuts, there will be a disruption in deliveries in the coming days. We will try to work with generators, but we do not know how useful and productive it will be. The costs are high, too. The weekly cost of the cuts to garment exports may reach $250 million."

He added that they have the risk of losing buyers coming to Turkey from China. He hopes the power cuts will be limited to just this week. "We are all in shock in this period when we increase our export target."

Meanwhile, in an announcement made on TEIAŞ's website it was stated that the electricity cuts will be applied to users outside of residential and commercial premises within the scope of the plan.

"Due to the failure of the natural gas transmission line coming to our country from the Gürbulak entry point of Ağrı province on the Iranian side, gas curtailment will be applied to the Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plants to ensure the electricity supply-demand balance, the reduction will be applied to both the transmission system and nonresidential and commercial users connected to the distribution system within the program. The distribution companies and our establishment will inform you about the application of the cutback and the amount of the cutback," the statement read.