Proposed Amendment to the Electricity Market Law: Shares of Lighting Expenses Increase

The omnibus bill submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) includes a significant proposed amendment to the Electricity Market Law (EPK) . The proposal would extend the deadline for covering public lighting expenses from 2025 to 2030 and increase the deduction rates for municipalities and special provincial administrations.

🔑 Main Points

• General lighting period : Will be extended from 2025 to 2030 .
• The deduction rate for metropolitan municipalities is being increased from 20% to 30% .
• In other municipalities, the rate will increase from 10% to 15% .
• The rate for special provincial administrations will be increased from 20% to 30% .
• Purpose: A more balanced sharing of general lighting costs and strengthening of self-control in practice.

According to the current regulation that came into force in 2014, deductions made by municipalities in general lighting expenses are as follows:

• 10% in metropolitan cities
• 5% in other municipalities
• It was at the level of 10% in provincial special administrations.

With the new proposal, these rates will approximately triple . According to the article submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly:

The phrase “31/12/2025” will be changed to “31/12/2030”, the phrase “ten percent” will be changed to “thirty percent”,

The phrase “five percent” will be updated to “fifteen percent.”

The justification for the proposal emphasized the goal of sharing general lighting expenses more evenly between central and local governments and controlling public costs .

This change aims to both direct municipalities towards efficiency in energy consumption and reduce the burden of lighting expenses on the budget .

This regulation will have a significant financial impact, particularly for metropolitan municipalities . Rising outage rates could force local governments to reexamine their energy management policies .

In the energy sector, this change is expected to accelerate the LED transformation in general lighting systems and encourage the transition to smart lighting solutions .

If the proposal submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly is accepted, general lighting costs will continue to be covered by the central budget and local shares until 2030. Increasing cuts from municipal budgets could usher in a period of prioritizing energy efficiency investments.

[1] Proposal for Amendments to Tax Laws, Certain Laws and Decree Law No. 631

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