Recent developments
The Regulation Amending the Electricity Market Licensing Regulation (the “Amending Regulation”) has entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette dated 29 April 2026 and numbered 33238. The full text of the Amending Regulation is available here (in Turkish).
What does the Amending Regulation introduce?
With the Amending Regulation, several amendments are made to the Electricity Market Licensing Regulation (the “Regulation”), which was originally published in the Official Gazette dated 2 November 2013 and numbered 28809. The key amendments may be summarised as follows:
1. Sanctions applicable to legal entities entitled to obtain a licence as a continuation of a previous licence are regulated
With the addition of a new paragraph to Article 5 of the Regulation, which regulates the obligation to obtain a pre‑licence and a licence, a significant provision is introduced regarding legal entities that are granted a licence deemed to be a continuation of a previous licence in cases specified in the third paragraph of the same Article as not amounting to a licence transfer (e.g., the transfer of a licence to another legal entity established with the same shareholding structure as the licence holder, subject to the approval of the Energy Market Regulatory Board (“Board”) and provided that the new legal entity fulfils the obligations set forth under the Regulation). Accordingly, it is stipulated that if such legal entities fail to duly fulfil, within the prescribed period, the obligations set forth in the decision of the Board regarding the grant of a new licence in the nature of a continuation of the previous one, they shall be subject to the sanctions provided for under Article 16 of the Electricity Market Law No. 6446 (the “EML”). Thus, the consequences of failure to comply with these obligations are clarified.
2. The scope of statutory sanctions is expanded to include preliminary licence holders
The scope of the sanction regime set out under the first paragraph of Article 27 of the Regulation, which provides for the application of the sanctions under Article 16 of the EML against licence holders depending on the nature of the violation, is expanded. As a result, preliminary licence holders are now expressly included among the entities subject to such sanctions.
In addition, the failure of preliminary licence holders and licence holders to fulfil the obligations set out in the Board decision within the prescribed period is explicitly included among the cases where the sanctions under Article 16 of the EML shall be imposed.
However, it is also stipulated that these sanctions will apply only where there is no specific sanction prescribed under the relevant legislation for the violation in question.
3. Certain restrictions are introduced on the use of trade names, brands and logos by supply licence holders other than authorized supply companies, as well as by aggregator licence holders
With the amendment made to Article 34 of the Regulation, which governs the rights and obligations of supply licence holders, it is now stipulated that supply licence holders other than authorised supply companies may not (i) include the region name of distribution licence holders in their trade names, or (ii) use the same brand or logo as distribution companies.
The same restrictions also extend to aggregator licence holders through the additional paragraph introduced to Article 34/A of the Regulation.
Under Provisional Article 47, legal entities that are not in compliance with the obligations introduced to the Regulation are required to remedy such non-compliance and align with the relevant legislative provisions by 31 December 2026.
4. Certain sanction provisions set forth under the Regulation are repealed
Paragraph 16 of Article 43 of the Regulation, which governs (i) the application of increased licence amendment fees or the imposition of the relevant fee in cases where approvals, notifications and licence amendment applications required under the applicable legislation in respect of changes in shareholding structure are not duly made within the prescribed time limits, and (ii) the application of the sanctions set forth under Article 16 of the EML with respect to shareholding changes carried out without prior approval by licence holders engaged in tariff‑regulated activities, is removed from the text of the Regulation.
Similarly, paragraph 17 of Article 43 of the Regulation, which stipulates that the licence acquisition fee shall be applied at three times its amount where the relevant legal entity, although having completed the merger or demerger within the period granted under paragraph 10 of Article 59, fails to fulfil its obligations within the prescribed time, is also removed from the Regulation.
In addition, paragraph 21 of Article 43 of the Regulation, which provides that: (i) a fee equal to three times the amendment fee shall be charged to the relevant legal entity if no application is made to the competent authority within ninety days, as required under paragraph 2 of Article 17 of the Regulation, for the purpose of obtaining the necessary decision under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation; and (ii) the licence amendment fee shall be applied at three times its amount if no application is made to the relevant authority within forty‑five days in respect of amendment procedures falling within the scope of Article 24 of the Regulation, is deleted from the Regulation.
Furthermore, paragraph 22 of Article 43 of the Regulation, which provides that the licence acquisition fee shall be applied at three times the standard amount in cases where, within the scope of subparagraphs (b) and (c) of the third paragraph of Article 5 of the Regulation, the relevant legal entity completes the transfer, sale, or lease transactions within the granted period but fails to fulfil its obligations within the prescribed timeframe, is also removed from the text of the Regulation.
Under Provisional Article 48, it is stipulated that, with respect to legal entities that had failed to fulfil their obligations under the applicable legislation as of 29 April 2026, where no action has been taken pursuant to the paragraphs of Article 43 of the Regulation repealed by the Amending Regulation, action shall be taken within the framework of paragraph 1 of Article 27 of the Regulation. In this context, in the absence of a specific provision to the contrary in the applicable legislation, the sanctions set forth under Article 16 of the EML shall apply to such legal entities.
Conclusion
The Amending Regulation places increased emphasis on compliance by preliminary licence and licence holders with obligations imposed by Board decisions. Furthermore, by repealing certain provisions providing for increased fees, it effectively shifts the enforcement framework towards the general sanctions regime under the EML for the relevant breaches. In addition, the amendments aim to prevent any confusion between supply licence holders other than authorised supply companies or aggregator licence holders by prohibiting the use of trade names, brands, and logos that are used by distribution companies. In this respect, it is essential for market participants to reassess their regulatory obligations as well as the applicable Board decisions
