The Role of Regional Electricity Consumption on Regional Development in Türkiye

Electricity consumption is an important element of economic activities and economic development. For countries such as Türkiye, which is a country in the process of development, it is essential to understand the effect of electricity consumption indicator on macro indicators such as growth and development. This is because electricity consumption is the driving force in sectors such as agriculture, industry and the service sector and is important for the Turkish economy. This study analyses the relationship between sectoral electricity consumption of 81 provinces of Türkiye and GDP per capita, which is one of the indicators of development, for the period 2013-2021. In addition, exports and imports are used as control variables. The study aims to better understand the regional economic effect of electricity consumption in development. The method used in the study is spatial panel data econometrics. In addition, Moran’s I statistics are also utilised. With these methods, the mutual interactions between neighbouring units (provinces) are revealed for Türkiye. Among the findings of the study, electricity consumption in government offices per capita and electricity consumption in agricultural irrigation per capita negatively affect GDP per capita, while electricity consumption in industry per capita positively affects GDP per capita. This study provides findings that will increase the effectiveness of energy policies and regional development plans to be implemented in Türkiye.