Is the privatization of electricity distribution the cause of the disaster?

While Izmir is one of the cities most affected by the fires that have been affecting Turkey for days, a statement was made by Izmir Governor Süleyman Elban regarding the cause of the fires.

Elban, who touched upon the fact that fires have been occurring in various parts of the city for the last 8 days, stated that the fires were not caused by humans and said, "The fires that started yesterday in Çeşme İldır Neighborhood and Ödemiş , the fires in Seferihisar over the weekend, and the fires in Foça and Aliağa before that all started because of power lines. The sparks from the power lines ignited the grass nearby and spread to the surrounding area and the forest in a short time. There is no fire caused by humans or sabotage."

According to the news in Sözcü , private companies that took over electricity distribution through privatization had cut infrastructure investments and brought maintenance work to a halt in recent months on the grounds that they could not make a profit from the current tariff. The newspaper's news noted that the lack of necessary maintenance on the lines had caused Turkey's national wealth to turn into ashes.

Electricity distribution companies cited the high inflation seen in Turkey as the reason for not increasing electricity tariffs until May and claimed that they could not finance infrastructure investments at current prices.

The fact that many electricity distribution companies brought their infrastructure investments to a halt caused a disaster in Türkiye during the summer months.