Türkiye’s August power clearing price climbed to $62.46/MWh

What happened

Türkiye’s weighted average wholesale electricity clearing price rose to $62.46/MWh in August, a 6.41% increase from July, Enerji Günlüğü reported. The result followed a much sharper 101.84% month-on-month increase in July. Despite the August rise, the price was 13.88% below that recorded in the same month a year earlier.

Electricity consumption totalled 35,415,549MWh. This was 3.01% above July and 2.07% higher year on year. Generation reached 31,149,573MWh, increasing 3.44% from the preceding month but declining 0.36% against August last year.

Hydropower continued to provide the largest portion of generation, at 29.1%, although this was down from 30.1% in July. The change reflected a drop in run-of-river hydro’s share, from 6.2% to 4.3%, while reservoir hydro rose from 23.9% to 24.7%.

Natural gas increased from 11.5% of output in July to 13.0% in August. Lignite also accounted for 13.0%. Wind’s contribution rose to 14.9%, imported coal edged up to 21.9%, and solar fell to 3.6%.

Why it matters

The data show a higher monthly wholesale price at a time when demand also strengthened. Enerji Günlüğü attributed the increase to greater cooling demand, lower run-of-river hydro output and a larger role for gas-fired generation.

For power buyers with wholesale-market exposure, the result underlines the need to review August procurement costs and monitor changes in hydro availability and gas generation. Generators and market participants can also use the changing mix to assess near-term price drivers.

The annual comparison points in the other direction. Hydropower’s 29.1% share was substantially higher than the 14.3% recorded a year earlier, while natural gas fell to 13.0% from 27.3%. According to the source, the stronger hydro contribution and reduced gas generation helped explain the lower year-on-year clearing price.

Generation mix

August’s mix combined a still-dominant hydro position with gains for gas, lignite, wind and imported coal compared with July. That combination is relevant because the month-on-month price increase occurred even though the clearing price remained lower than a year earlier.