Turkey's bar associations call for an end to electricity price hikes, deem them unconstitutional
Some 76 bar associations throughout Turkey have declared that price hikes on electricity since the start of the new year are unconstitutional and a violation of human rights. In the statement, the bar associations, including that of Istanbul and Ankara, said they would pursue all legal pathways available to bring electricity prices back to a “fair” price for consumers.
Duvar English
Some 76 bar associations in Turkey have declared electricity price hikes since the New Year are not only unconstitutional but are a violation of Turkish citizens’ human rights.
“Everyone has the right to use affordable energy,” they wrote in a joint statement.
In the statement, the bar associations, including that of Istanbul and Ankara, said they would pursue all legal pathways available to bring electricity prices back to a “fair” price for consumers.
The legal organizations say these price rises are in violation of the 2nd, 10th, and 167th articles of the Turkish Constitution and the 14th article of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Turkey is party and legally bound.
The statement further contends that the calculations used to determine graded price increases for consumers are not based on evidence. On January 31, the monthly usage rate until which consumers would be taxed was raised from 150 kW to 210 kW. The average usage by a family of four, according to the statement, is 235 kW a month. It’s higher for larger families, of which there are many in Turkey.
The legal associations say that research and scientific data must be employed to determine average usage in tariffs - at present, that is missing.
They also wrote in the statement that the electricity bills being levied on businesses are exorbitant. This week, small businesses began posting their electricity bills - some numbering in the tens of thousands - in their windows to protest price hikes. Workers in İzmir burned utility bills in front of the state social security office, and main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said he would not pay his electricity bills until there was intervention by the government.
“We, the undersigned bar associations, respectfully announce to the public that we are against this exorbitant increase in electrical energy, that we will follow the reduction of the hike to a more equitable level for our citizens, and that we will take all legal remedies in this process,” they said.