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Tailor-made laws in the Western Balkans and Turkey

Amendment on the Electricity Market Law for the extension of contracts - Tailor-made laws in the Western Balkans and Turkey

Amendment on the Electricity Market Law for the extension of contracts

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Introduction

The law envisages amendments to a variety of laws, including the Electricity Market Law No. 6446, which originally went into force in 2013.

Article 32 of the amendments includes an additional – provisional – item under Law No. 6446 allowing for a 36-month extension of rights and obligations within the scope of transfer agreements and electricity sales agreements made for the purpose of establishing electricity production facilities based on renewables or domestic coal resources.

Country
Turkey
Sector
Energy and natural resources
Type of Law
Capturing a market, an industry or public resources

Description of the law

The law envisages amendments to a variety of laws, including the Electricity Market Law No. 6446, which originally went into force in 2013.

Article 32 of the amendments includes an additional – provisional – item under Law No. 6446 allowing for a 36-month extension of rights and obligations within the scope of transfer agreements and electricity sales agreements made for the purpose of establishing electricity production facilities based on renewables or domestic coal resources. Also allowed within the 36-month period is the transfer of contracts to another company or the transfer of shares within the same company, which was not the case before. No restrictions and sanctions arising from the transfer of shares will be implemented for 36 months. In this context, stamp duty will not be collected on transferred contracts.

The assignee firm is required to meet all the requirements that were set out in the first tender, except for the technology provider condition (see here and here).

According to the general preamble of the bill, the purpose was to create the necessary legal basis to solve the financial difficulties confronting firms in the real sector as a result of domestic and international macroeconomic developments. However, the opposition argued that the bill, including this specific amendment, goes against the Constitution and the rule of law, given its extensive content and approval procedure.

Additionally, the provisional Article 32 was alleged to be tailor-made as it facilitated the transfer of shares in a solar energy project, YEKA-1 GES Konya Karapınar, which had been initiated by Kalyon Group, a company that is known for its close ties with the government, and by Hanwha Group (see pages 52-54). Before adoption of the amendment, Kalyon Group and Hanwha Group had decided to end their partnership, but a transfer of shares from Hanwha Group to Kalyon Group was not possible because of legal constraints. With the amendment’s adoption, Hanwha Group transferred its shares to Kalyon Group in 2019.

The bill was drafted by the Justice and Development Party and drew criticism from opposition parties, namely the Peoples’ Democratic Party and the Republican People’s Party. While the opposition argued that Article 32 should be discussed in the relevant technical committees, the bill was not transferred to the relevant committees for further discussion. According to the opposition, the main purpose of Article 32 was to favour certain companies operating in the renewable energy sector and to facilitate their operation without the requirement to initiate new tenders when there are changes to conditions or partners in renewable energy projects.

For a detailed discussion of the opposition’s criticisms before adoption of Article 32, see here and here.

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