No new capacity, yet the capacity itself is being renewed!

The core problem in Türkiye’s unlicensed electricity generation framework remains unresolved: no new capacity is being opened. As demand for renewable energy investments continues to rise, TEİAŞ and distribution companies cannot create additional room in the transmission and distribution systems due to technical constraints. As a result, the sector has long been unable to accommodate new applications, and expectations for “capacity expansion” have consistently gone unmet.

However, the amendments published on November 25, 2025 introduce an interesting shift. Since new capacity cannot be created, a different strategy is now being employed — recycling existing capacity and, where possible, upgrading it with higher-quality projects. The essence of the new regulatory changes is built exactly on this approach.

The regulation brings order, not expansion

The latest amendments were not introduced to increase capacity but to ensure that the existing capacity is used more efficiently and more fairly. After all, the system’s physical limits cannot be expanded through regulations alone. Capacity is defined by transformer loads, short-circuit ratios, transmission security, and technical boundaries. Therefore, regulatory changes cannot, on their own, create new physical room. For this reason, the Ministry, TEİAŞ and the distribution regions have long adopted a new mindset: “If we cannot provide new capacity, we manage the existing one more cleanly.”

Re-Cycle: Clearing out dormant and inefficient applications

The strongest impact of the recent amendments is the removal of accumulated, unused, or system-blocking applications. Files padded with unrealized consumption points, inactive connection letters, transfer-based loopholes, and subscription-shifting tactics — all of which have reduced system efficiency and created market congestion — are now largely being eliminated.

With the new rules:

• Unused grid connection rights are being cancelled,

• Non-compliant projects are removed from the system,

• Projects without a legitimate consumption relationship are deactivated,

• Multiple applications are consolidated into a single one,

• Transfer processes become transparent.

This approach cleans the system without adding new capacity, freeing space previously occupied by applications that did not benefit genuine investors.

Up-Cycle: Redirecting existing capacity to higher-value projects

The regulation doesn’t just clean the system — it also aims to make better use of the remaining capacity by raising quality standards. A new prioritization framework now evaluates:

• Whether generation and consumption occur at the same metering point,

• Whether consumption levels are sufficient,

• Whether contracted power is high enough,

• Whether a previous positive grid opinion exists.

Through these measurable criteria, scarce capacity flows toward more robust projects with stronger consumption links and sounder structural and financial foundations. By the end of 2025, a fully digital database for consumption–generation matching is expected to go live. This will enable end-to-end digitalization and ensure that capacity is allocated to the right applicants and the right projects — creating an “up-cycle” effect, where the same resource (capacity) becomes more valuable through better allocation.

Capacity is still insufficient, but the system is evolving

It is clear that Türkiye remains far from reaching a point where the “capacity problem in unlicensed generation is solved.” Due to technical infrastructure limits, transmission bottlenecks, and regional saturation, new physical capacity still cannot be generated. However, this does not mean the process is at a dead end. Even without providing new capacity, the Ministry, TEİAŞ and distribution companies continue taking steps that strengthen the system’s internal structure. The latest regulatory amendments have made capacity cleaner, fairer, more transparent, and more qualitative — and for me, these improvements are more valuable than simply releasing large amounts of new capacity.