Introduction
Turkish Electricity Generation Company ("EÜAŞ") commissioned seven mobile power plants based on natural gas since the beginning of 2019. Each power plant has an aggregate capacity of 25 MW and will be used to ensure the electricity supply security in case of a power outage due to a malfunction or a natural disaster. The mobile power plants are designed to provide electricity in only a few hours, including assembly and connection to the relevant power grid.
During the initial phase of operation, these mobile power plants will be based in the substations located in seven connection points: Istanbul (European side), Istanbul (Asian side), Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Diyarbakır and Izmir. The construction of a new power plant takes approximately thirty-six months. Therefore, these mobile power plants are likely to provide the fastest solution in the event of urgent electricity demand in a feasible way, especially after natural disasters and during power outages due to weather conditions.
Legal Framework
The Regulation Amending the Electricity Market Capacity Mechanism Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 7 November 2019 and numbered 30941 ("Regulation") provides the legal framework to include such power plants into the power grid which is operated by Turkish Electricity Transmission Company ("TEİAŞ"). Due to their nature, such mobile power plants do not function with a pre-determined installed power capacity as these have to be installed wherever and whenever needed and the amount of power they feed into the grid depends on the requirements of each case. Therefore, the Regulation states that the installed capacity of such mobile power plants will be deemed to be 0 (zero) MW in case these are not commissioned in accordance with the loading instructions given by TEİAŞ during the relevant month. Such mobile power plants are also excluded from the "capacity usage ratio" requirements applicable to other power plants for the same reason.
Conclusion
EÜAŞ' mobile power plants will contribute to balancing the electricity supply and demand equilibrium, especially during emergencies. Although this type of power plant is brand new, amendments introduced to the Regulation aim to include such new power plants into the supply pool without unnecessary disruptions.
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