Power lines nationalized of for Akkuyu nuclear plant

A new step has been taken regarding the Akkuyu Nuclear Plant, the first of three nuclear power plants Turkey currently plans to build to reduce its energy dependence following a decision to nationalize the power transmission lines.

According to three separate decisions announced in the Official Gazette on April 10, the Turkish Electricity Transmission Company (TEİAŞ) will nationalize the sections on the route for the projects of Akkuyu NGS-Ermenek HES, Akkuyu NGS-Konya http://www.sabah.com.tr/haberleri/konya and Akkuyu NGS-Seydişehir power transmission lines.

The 2016 investment program states that the Konya and Seydişehir transmission lines will cost TL 180 million ($63.4 million) and TL 105 million, respectively.

Turkey launched the construction of its first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, located in the southern province of Mersin, in April 2015, to provide greater energy self-sufficiency and reduce dependency on energy exporters such as Russia and Iran.

The $20 billion project will consist of four units capable of generating 1,200 megawatts of power each. The Russian state-run atomic energy corporation Rosatom is constructing the Akkuyu power plant and it is expected that the facility will produce approximately 35 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year once completed. Its service life is estimated to last 60 years.

A second plant is planned to be built by a French-Japanese consortium in the northern Black Sea city of Sinop, while former Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Ali Rıza Alaboyun, announced in October, 2015, that the country's third nuclear power plant will be built in İğneada district in the northwestern province of Kırklareli.