Each year, about 300 TWh of electricity is used in Turkey: this supplies almost a quarter of the total final energy demand,[9]: 19  the rest being from coal, oil and gas.

[15] As of 2021[update], household electricity consumption is estimated to average 230 kWh a month[16] and is dominated by refrigerators, followed by televisions then washing machines.

[21] Demand forecasting is important, because constructing too much electricity generation capacity can be expensive, both for government energy subsidies and private sector debt interest.

[22][23] Conversely, constructing too little risks delaying the health benefits of electrification, the biggest of which is cleaner air due to fossil fuel phase-out.

[39]: 10  Shura Energy Transition Center, a think tank, has recommended to automatically charge electric cars when plenty of wind and solar power is available.

[40] Getting old diesel cars and trucks off the road would have health and environmental benefits, but this would require new pollution control legislation,[41] and as of 2021[update] the only commercial electric vehicles planned for mass production are vans.

[50]: 4 Air pollution from coal-fired power stations is damaging public health,[52]: 48  and it is estimated that a coal phase-out by 2030 instead of by the 2050s would save over 100,000 lives.

[69] Hydropower is a critical source of electricity, and in some years substantial amounts can be generated due to Turkey's mountainous landscape, abundance of rivers, and it being surrounded by three seas.

Construction of some dams has been controversial for various reasons: for example environmentalists claiming they damage wildlife such as fish,[72] or downstream countries complaining of reduced water flow.

[75] Wind power generates about 10% of Turkey's electricity, mainly in the west in the Aegean and Marmara regions, and is gradually becoming a larger share of renewable energy in the country.

In 2020 Turkey ranked 8th in Europe for solar power,[4]: 49  but it could increase far more quickly if subsidies for coal were abolished[84] and the auction system was improved.

At the end of 2021 Turkey had 1.7 GW installed capacity, the fourth largest in the world after the United States, Indonesia and the Philippines.

[4]: 39 According to a 2018 study by Sabancı University, 20% of Turkey's electricity may be generated from wind and solar by 2026 with no extra transmission costs, and 30% with a minor increase in grid investment.

[122] The nationwide blackout in 2015 was not caused by a natural disaster, but by the limited capacity and lack of resilience of the main east-west connection whilst it was being maintenanced - leaving it unable to redistribute enough of the eastern hydroelectricity to the high consuming west.

[125] New wind and solar in the west and centre of the country is closer to demand and is thus reducing the dependance on high voltage transmission.

[158] International trade with some countries is hampered by geopolitical difficulties such as the Cyprus dispute; for example, Turkey will be bypassed by the EuroAsia Interconnector.

[159] Because TEIAŞ is not unbundled, it cannot become a full member of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), but the grids are synchronised and there is technical co-operation.

[189][190] In the early 2020s, Turkish electricity companies still owe much foreign currency,[191][192] debt is being restructured[193] and plants are changing ownership.

[198] The main growth in solar and wind during the 2020s is predicted to be in Renewable Energy Resource Areas(YEKA): these use auctions and include a requirement to manufacture mostly in Turkey.

[200] Build Own Operate is being used to construct Akkuyu nuclear plant to ensure that responsibility for cost overruns is with Rosatom.

Another notable aspect of the Turkish renewable energy subsidization program is the strong emphasis on local content, as was the case with additional YEKDEM payments to investments with a degree of locally-manufactured equipment utilization.

[110] Shura suggested in 2020 that future pricing should be more competitive and better reflect costs, with low-income families being continued to be supported with direct payments.

[216] There were street protests, and the main opposition Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu refused to pay his own bill in support.

[219] Production of public heat and electricity emitted 131 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) in 2020,[3]: table 1s1 cell B10  mainly through coal burning.

[226] A 2021 decarbonization plan by Istanbul Policy Center, a thinktank, has almost all coal power shutdown by 2035; whereas natural gas plants would continue to run to provide flexibility for greatly increased wind and solar, but at a much lower capacity factor.

[229] As of 2020[update] Turkey's three main policy objectives are to meet forecast increased demand, a predictable market, and to reduce import costs.

[230][9] To meet these objectives policy includes increasing generation from solar, wind and domestic coal;[231] and starting to produce nuclear energy.

[233] The objectives are developing local manufacturing capacity such as wind turbines,[234] technology transfer and creating a competitive domestic market for low-cost renewable energy.

According to the European Commission the domestic content requirements contradict World Trade Organization and EU-Turkey Customs Union rules.

[236] Developing regulation to specify the role of aggregators in providing flexibility, and including energy storage systems and demand side management within ancillary services, has been suggested.