Since December 2010, in an effort to help liberalise the Turkish Electricity Market, the Energy Traders Association (ETD) has been cooperating with the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET).

One of the most important prerequisites for market liquidity and market confidence is a viable OTC agreement. Within continental Europe, the EFET General Agreement Concerning the Delivery and Acceptance of Electricity is widely used for physically settled electricity transactions. The Agreement has been translated into several languages and has successfully weathered crisis-situations since its introduction 10 years ago.

EFET and ETD are pleased to announce that a dedicated working group has worked out a Turkish version of the EFET General Agreement. The Turkish version of the Agreement consists of a dual-language document with some deviations from the European version.

The contract has been translated and adapted to Turkish Law and the process has been endorsed by ETD and EFET. The main changes concern the requirement for a written form for all agreements and the introduction of the Turkish Lira as a base currency with optionality to choose other currencies. Furthermore, the Agreement can be concluded according to Turkish law by electing Turkish jurisdiction and arbitration. Current regulation provides that any legal instrument negotiated between Turkish companies needs to be in Turkish language.

This requirement, however, does not apply if one of the contractual parties is non-Turkish.

Dr. Jan Haizmann, Chairman of the EFET Legal Committee, said that “gaining market acceptance of the OTC Agreement by Turkish companies would be a major step towards a more liquid wholesale market”. Mustafa Karahan, Chairman of ETD, also confirmed the importance of a standard contract and said that “ETD and EFET have done a great job towards the development of an OTC Market. Now we are expecting the Government to support the idea, help to eliminate obstacles, and promote electricity market liquidity”.

ETD in co-operation with EFET organises a workshop for ETD members on 22 July 2011 to introduce the EFET Turkish Agreement and explain its features. The Press Meeting will also be held on the 22 July at 10:00

EFET
Amstelveenseweg 998, 1081 JS Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 5207970
Dutch Registration No: 34114458
www.efet.org

For more information, please contact Maria Popova (M.Popova@efet.org; Tel: 0032 (0) 489 005 730).

Energy Traders Association (ETD) was founded in 2010 by major Electricity Traders. ETD carries its activities to reach liberal trading environment and universal standards for all. ETD targets preparation and management of required infrastructure allowing free trade and development of trading platforms ensuring
transparency and accessibility of market prices and information.

The European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET) promotes and facilitates European energy trading in open, transparent and liquid wholesale markets, unhindered by national borders or other undue obstacles. EFET currently represents more than 100 energy trading companies, active in over 27 European countries.

For more information: www.efet.org.