Restructuring of Turkey’s electricity market and the share of hydropower energy: The case of the Eastern Black Sea Basin Ergun Uzlu a , Adem Akpınar b, * , Murat _ Ihsan Kömürcü a a Karadeniz Technical University, Civil Engineering Department, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey b Gümüs ¸ hane University, Civil Engineering Department, 29000 Gümüs ¸ hane, Turkey article info Article history: Received 17 March 2010 Accepted 4 August 2010 Available online 23 August 2010 Keywords: Turkey’s Electricity Market Laws Hydropower The Eastern Black Sea Basin abstract This paper presents the historical development of Turkey’s electricity power sector, the efforts for introducing competition in the power industry in Turkey, and the concerns regarding restructuring in Turkey. The contribution of the hydropower energy potential in Turkey to the reconstruction of the electricity structure in Turkey is also investigated. Then, among the 25 hydrological basins in Turkey, the Eastern Black Sea Basin located in the northeast of Turkey, which has great advantages from the view point of small hydropower potential or hydropower potential without storage, is chosen as the case study to carry out some investigations concerning its potential and to analyze the contribution of the private sector (the corporate body) in regard to the development of hydro potential in this basin within the scope of the 4628 Electricity Market Law. With this law, concerning the restructuring of the electricity market, private sector investments in this segment have increased. In total, 1524 hydroelectric power projects with 22 360 MW installed capacity has been implemented until January 22nd, 2009 and this figure is continuously rising. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The electricity division of the energy sector is considered to be a key player in the accumulation of wealth and also a significant component in the economical development. Since 1980s, the world electricity industry has experienced a series of deregulations pio- neered by Chile, England and Wales, and Norway [1]. In accordance with many developed and developing countries, Turkey has implemented a reform movement in the electricity sector by passing the Electricity Market Law No. 4628 in February 2001. Until mid 1980s, the production, the transmission and the distribution of electricity were performed by a vertically integrated, public-owned monopoly, the Turkish Electricity Institution (TEK), in Turkey. Beginning with mid 1980s the governments have initiated privat- ization and deregulation implementations in the Turkish electricity sector. However, a radical change in the sector is brought about through the Law implemented in 2001. This Law aims at estab- lishing a competitive electricity market. The main components of this Law are vertical de-integration of the generation, the transmission and the distribution of electrical energy, the intro- duction of competition into the generation and the retail sale, the establishment of an independent regulatory authority and privat- ization of the public generation and distribution entities [2]. Turkey is an energy-importing country. In order to be less dependent on other countries, Turkey needs to use its sustainable sources. From this point of view, hydropower is a very attractive choice, since it is economical, sustainable, and environmentally friendly and it is a publicaly familiar source of energy in Turkey [3]. This paper reviews the detailed historical development of the electricity market in Turkey, examines specifically the restruc- turing process of the electricity market following the passing of the Electricity Market Law No. 4628, and investigates Turkey’s hydropower potential and its developmental status. This article also analyses the general characteristics, the climate and the water resources, as well as the large and the small hydropower potential, and the hydropower development of the Eastern Black Sea Basin (EBSB), which has great advantages from the view point of hydropower potential without storage among the 25 hydrological basins in Turkey. In addition to these, the impor- tance of the basin and the private sector projects which will be carried out in this region are generally discussed and evaluated. Finally, the environmental impacts and the financing of the sector are assessed. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ90 456 233 7425/1127; fax: þ90 456 233 7427. E-mail addresses: aakpinar@ktu.edu.tr, ademakpinar@hotmail.com (A. Akpınar). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Renewable Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene 0960-1481/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2010.08.012 Renewable Energy 36 (2011) 676e688