Law No. 6446 on the Electricity Market (Elektrik Piyasası Kanunu)

Overview

Law No. 6446 on the Electricity Market was published in Official Gazette No. 28603 on 30 March 2013 and is the framework law of the Turkish electricity market. This record is based on the consolidated version with amendments up to 2025. The law defines market activities, the licensing regime and the role of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK).

Its stated purpose is the supply of sufficient, quality, continuous, low-cost and environmentally compatible electricity through a competitive, transparent and stable market (Article 1(1)). The part most relevant to a data centre designer is Article 14, which lists activities exempt from licensing and company formation, because it frames the legal status of on-site standby and generation.

Under Article 14(1)(a), emergency generator sets (imdat grupları) and generation not connected to the transmission or distribution system are exempt from licence and company formation. Under Article 14(1)(b), renewable plants up to 1 MW are licence-exempt. Article 14(1)(d) exempts renewable plants that consume all their output at the same metering point without feeding the grid. Article 14(1)(e), added in 2018, exempts storage and demand-side activities within limits set by the Board.

The law refers to secondary regulations; the Regulation on Unlicensed Electricity Generation in the Electricity Market and the Electricity Market Connection and System Usage Regulation are recorded as related. The record is limited to a summary of the law, so detailed conditions and limits of the exemptions should be checked separately at regulation level.

Key points

1. Purpose: sufficient, quality, continuous, low-cost and environmentally compatible electricity through a competitive, transparent market (Article 1(1)).
2. Emergency generator sets and generation not connected to transmission or distribution are exempt from licence and company formation (Article 14(1)(a)).
3. Renewable plants up to 1 MW are licence-exempt (Article 14(1)(b)).
4. Renewable plants consuming all output at the same metering point without feeding the grid are licence-exempt (Article 14(1)(d)).
5. Storage and demand-side activities within limits set by the Board are licence-exempt (Article 14(1)(e), added 2018).
6. Law No. 6446, Official Gazette 28603, 30.03.2013.

Using it in design

• In a regulatory checklist, classify each on-site source (diesel standby, PV, BESS) against the Article 14 exemptions.
• Show for each source whether a licence or only a connection agreement is needed.
• Set metering-point design for non-exporting PV to the Article 14(1)(d) condition.
• Verify exemption limits and details in the relevant regulations.

Who should read it

Engineers designing data centre power systems in Turkey and regulatory compliance leads.

Related standards

• Elektrik Piyasasında Lisanssız Elektrik Üretim Yönetmeliği
• Elektrik Piyasası Bağlantı ve Sistem Kullanım Yönetmeliği

Publication details

Authors

Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi

Publisher

Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi

Year

2013

Document number

Kanun No. 6446 (RG 28603, 30.03.2013)

Document language

Turkish

Source type

Turkish regulation

Access

Free to read

Licence

Bibliographic reference only — the document is not redistributed here; confirm reuse terms at the original source

Citation