Tradesmen reacted by saying, "We were not defeated by Covid-19, we are defeated by the electricity bill," when the bills, which were previously 3,000 – 5,000 Turkish Liras (TL), and 10,000 TL at the utmost, increased between 30,000 and 50,000 TL with the hiked tariff.
Increasing cost of living and price hikes from soup to nuts infuriated the citizens! While electricity and natural gas bills were coming high with the new year, the tradesmen showed their reaction by hanging the bills in the shops. While the shopkeepers, who received 3,000 and 5,000 TL electricity bills before, were shocked by the bills of 30,000 – 40,000 TL, they rebelled by saying, "We were not defeated by Covid-19, we are defeated by the electricity bill," the shopkeepers said.
IT IS INCREASED FROM 3,000 – 5,000 TL TO 30,000 – 50,000 TL!
The new year's hiked electricity bills almost ruined shopkeepers' family! While there was a 125 percent hike in electricity on the first day of the new year, the first bills made people say "it won't be that much." Tradesmen, who previously paid 3,000, 5,000, 10,000 TL electricity bills at the most, had to pay between 30,000 and 50,000 TL with the hiked bills. The shopkeeper, who rebelled, showed his reaction by hanging the bills on the shop window.
The tradesmen, who hung the bills with the increase in the window of the shop, shared it with social media by taking their photos. The citizen, who saw the bill of the tradesmen, supported the tradesmen and reacted to the government. While the citizens, who had difficulty believing the bill of the tradesmen, wanted to enter the shop and hear with their ears, some tradesmen hung banners with the message "We did not defeated by Covid-19, but by the electricity bill" on the window of the shop.
ELECTRICITY BILLS THREATEN BUSINESSES
Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce (GTO) President Tuncay Yıldırım stated that the hikes in electricity tariffs increase the cost pressure on businesses and threaten the sustainability of commercial activities.
Stating that the electricity hikes exceeded the acceptable limits in the cost items of the enterprises, GTO President Tuncay Yıldırım said, “With the increases in many items such as fuel, raw materials, worker wages, it is difficult to manage finances. The hike in electricity tariffs for our businesses has exceeded acceptable limits. Our businesses in all sectors, from manufacturing to service, have become unable to meet electricity costs. Electricity bills, which have become the biggest cost item of a business, will begin to reflect on consumer prices. Considering the purchasing power of the consumer in an inflationary environment, our businesses will have to shut their doors. While even the smallest business consumes at least 800 kilowatt-hours of electricity, the gradual tariff was unfortunately not a solution. In the gradual tariff, a special limit should be determined for our businesses and a discount should be applied. If measures are not taken in this regard, production, employment and therefore the economy will suffer greatly."
