ANKARA (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey will remove two fixed payments from electricity bills to help consumers, adding his government had already subsidised some energy costs.
Erdogan faces tough elections no later than mid-2023 and his approval ratings have been hit by Turkey’s nearly 20% inflation rate, with recent rises in staples such as food and gas.
Officials told Reuters last week that Ankara was preparing a fiscal support package to help lower-income households with measures such as lifting the minimum wage, relief on energy costs and raising salaries for some civil servants.
Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting in Ankara that the government will remove a fixed 2% payment on electricity bills for the funding of state broadcaster TRT and another 1% payment levied for outstanding energy costs.
“By neither disrupting the balances of firms in the energy sector nor victimising our citizens, we will keep managing this global energy crisis,” Erdogan said.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Alexander Smith)
