Heavy rains power up Turkey’s hydroelectric output

• March output up 96%
• Reduced natural gas use
• Water management is key

Heavy spring rains have helped to power up Turkey’s hydroelectricity industry and have a positive effect on its downstream neighbours Syria and Iraq. 

With most of Turkey’s dams at full capacity, output from the country’s hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) increased by 96 percent year-on-year to 10.5 megawatt hours in March. 

This is 47 percent higher than the 10-year average for the month, according to data issued by the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation at the beginning of April, with HPPs accounting for more than one-third of total electricity production of 29.3 MWh.

The increase to the national grid from HPPs comes at an opportune time for Turkey, with costs of natural gas rising due to the war in the Gulf and increased international competition for supplies. 

Turkey was able to scale back its reliance on natural gas for electricity generation in March – with total gas input at 8 percent, down from 20 percent for the same month in 2025 – because of increased output from HPPs and coal-fired power stations.

The stepping up of hydroelectric production has wider international implications.

Ankara has struggled to meet a treaty agreement to release a steady flow of water into the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to ensure both Syria and Iraq receive adequate supplies in recent years due to extended drought.

However, the return to regular rainfall patterns and the resumption of full hydroelectricity output has benefitted Turkey and its downstream neighbours, said professor Ayşegül Kibaroğlu, chair of the department of political science and international relations at İstanbul’s MEF University and an expert on transboundary water politics and Turkish water policy.

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“This will have a positive impact on relations with neighbours because production of power means that water – after going through turbines – is released back into the river … [providing] regular flow to the lower basin,” she told AGBI.

However, Kibaroğlu cautioned that, especially with climate change, the flow of the rivers is variable, so water management is becoming increasingly important. 

The higher output from HPPs has done little to ease rising power costs. 

The authorities announced last week a 25 percent increase in electricity tariffs for households, and lower rates of increase for industrial users, according to market intelligence company SteelOrbis. The higher costs are expected to feed into consumer and wholesale inflation, currently running at 30.8 and 28 percent respectively.