• Turkey blames sabotage, cyberattacks from US soil for power cuts — RT News
    https://www.rt.com/news/372957-turkey-power-grid-hacking

    Sabotage of underground powerlines and cyberattacks originating in the US were contributing factors in the power outages which Istanbul and other parts of Turkey have been experiencing since last week, the country’s energy minister said.

    “Yesterday, we faced an intense, US-originated cyber attack. These attacks have been carried out systematically on different parts of the Energy Ministry, but we have repelled them all,” Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak said in an interview with A Haber TV.

    He added that ministry staff responding to power cuts discovered sabotage of underground lines in three districts of Istanbul.

    #Turquie #Electricité #Complot

    • Et pour quelques éléments d’explications moins complotistes : privatisation, météo, géopolitique, incompétence de l’État...

      Turkey’s energy watchdog EPDK imposes two-month cap on power prices
      http://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/turkeys-energy-watchdog-epdk-imposes-two-month-cap-on-power-prices/56386439

      ANKARA: Turkey’s energy watchdog EPDK imposed a two-month cap of 500 liras per megawatt hour on electricity prices on Friday after prices rose to their highest level in years.

      Turkey’s daily natural gas consumption has risen to record highs since December, largely due to colder-than-usual weather triggering higher power consumption.

      The day-ahead electricity price at Turkey’s energy exchange (EPIAS) rose to 586 lira ($162) per megawatt hour last month with hourly prices as high as 1,900 lira, data from the exchange showed. Such levels were the highest in years, traders said.

      In a decision announced in the Official Gazette on Friday, Turkey’s EPDK said a 500 liras ($138.06) per megawatt hour cap would be imposed on electricity prices from January 6 to March 1, 2017.

      “With this decision, the EPDK is attempting to protect the consumer, supplier and producer from prices rising and falling unpredictably, and reduce the effects of seasonal weather conditions on energy prices,” the EPDK said in a statement.

      Day-ahead power price in EPIAS on Friday stood at 176.03 lira per MWh, data on its website showed.

      Traders have criticised poor supply planning and lack of coordination by the state energy authorities.

      State pipeline operator Botas has cut 75 percent of supplies to gas-fired power plants and advised industrial firms to cut non-critical output.

      In addition to mounting demand triggered by persistent cold weather, Turkey decided not to set its clocks back as usual this winter which led to a rise in electricity consumption rather than the planned energy savings.