A Reading into the Electricity Pricing Crisis in the Syrian North, an Analysis of the Relationship between the Local Populous and the Existing Governing Institutions
Analytical article produced by the societal cohesion and shared identity unit
Introduction:
After the completion of the “Euphrates Shield”, “Peace Spring”, and “Olive Branch” operations, the electricity sector of liberated Northern Syria witnessed the signing of six contracts with private Turkish companies. These contracts were organised by the Turkish provinces between the local councils and companies, the first of which was in the city of Azaz and the last being in Afrin. The one common factor between those contracts was the existence of unanswered questions around them, such as the nature of these contracts, their length and the reasons why they were never publicly released.
At the moment, three main electricity companies invest in the regions of Euphrates Shield (Jarabulus,Azaz, and Al-Bab), Olive Branch (Afrin and its countryside) and Peace Spring (Tal-Abyadh and Ras-Alayn). Namely, the Syrian Turkish Energy Company (STE enerji) which has started with a contract with the council of Suran, then Akhtrin and finally a contract in the region of Afrin in late 2020. The second company is the Energy and Electricity company (Ak Energy), which invests in Azaz, Al-Bab (including its countryside), Al-Rai, Jarablus and finally the area of Peace Spring (Tal-Abyadh and Ras-Alayn). Finally the third company is The North company for Electrical Energy Distribution, this company was established in the town of Mari’ providing it with energy by buying it from the other companies.
However in the areas of North-western Syria (Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo), areas that are under the control of “HTS”, the General Electricity Institution (under the jurisdiction of the “Salvation government”) has given investment rights to “Green Energy” which was a rebranding of “WTD” which monopolises fuel.
Despite the current technical issues with regards to the quality of the electric current and its stability, these projects have greatly supported general life but particularly the industrial and trade sectors. Nevertheless, the current period has witnessed a crisis that is the biggest yet, as the companies have raised the prices of electric energy lately, in response to the plummeting of the Turkish Lira’s value in comparison with the US dollar. This indeed has caused the biggest wave of protests in the majority of cities and towns of the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch regions, and to a lesser extent in the area of Peace Spring. These protests continue to this day in these regions, but on the other hand there were no protests in Idlib governate.
This crisis raises a bundle of questions about the relationships between the local populous, local committees and electricity companies. Mainly, what are the indicators of the populous’ behaviour and what are its demands? How did the local committees respond to this pressure? And what is the companies’ mode of interacting with these protests and how did they manage this crisis?
To read the entire paper: click here
مؤسسة بحثية سورية تسعى إلى الإسهام في بناء الرؤى والمعارف بما يساعد السوريين على إنضاج حلول عملية لمواجهة التحديات الوطنية المشتركة وتحقيق التنمية المستدامة
