Utilities in Istanbul covers the topic of public utility services in the city of Istanbul, Turkey.
Utilities in Istanbul covers the topic of public utility services in the city of Istanbul, Turkey.
The first water supply systems which were built in Istanbul date back to the foundation of the city. Two of the greatest aqueducts built in the Roman period are the Mazulkemer Aqueduct and the Valens Aqueduct. These aqueducts were built in order to channel water from the Halkalı area in the western edge of the city to the Beyazıt district in the city center, which was known as the Forum Tauri in the Roman period. [1] After reaching the city center, the water was later collected in the city's numerous cisterns, such as the famous Philoxenos (Binbirdirek) Cistern and the Basilica (Yerebatan) Cistern.
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned Mimar Sinan, his engineer and architect-in-chief, to improve the water needs of the city. Sinan constructed the Kırkçeşme Water Supply System in 1555. [1] In later years, with the aim of responding to the ever-increasing public demand, water from various springs was channeled to the public fountains by means of small supply lines; see German Fountain.
Today, Istanbul has a chlorinated and filtered water supply and a sewage disposal system managed by the government agency İSKİ. [2] There are also several private sector organizations distributing clean water.
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Electricity distribution services are covered by the state-owned TEK. The first electricity production plant in the city, Silahtarağa Termik Santrali, was established in 1914 and continued to supply electricity until 1983. [3]
The history of electricity in Istanbul dates back to the early 20th century. The first electricity production plant in the city, Silahtarağa Power Station (Silahtarağa Elektrik Santralı), was established in 1914. This plant was the primary source of electricity for Istanbul and continued to supply power until 1983. It played a critical role in the city's industrialization and modernization efforts during the early Republic period.
Silahtarağa Power Station, located on the Golden Horn, was initially coal-fired and later converted to operate on fuel oil. The plant's establishment marked the beginning of the city's electrification, providing power for public lighting, trams, and industrial enterprises. Its closure in 1983 led to the repurposing of the site, and it has since been transformed into SantralIstanbul, an energy museum and cultural center.
Electricity distribution services in Istanbul are currently managed by the state-owned Turkish Electricity Distribution Corporation (TEK). TEK oversees the distribution of electricity throughout the city, ensuring that residential, commercial, and industrial areas receive a stable and reliable power supply.
In addition to TEK, there are several private sector organizations involved in the electricity market. These companies operate under the regulation and supervision of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA), ensuring compliance with national standards and regulations.
In recent years, Istanbul has seen significant investments in renewable energy sources. The city is working towards integrating more sustainable and eco-friendly power solutions to reduce its carbon footprint and reliance on fossil fuels. Solar panels, wind turbines, and hydroelectric power are some of the renewable energy initiatives being implemented to diversify the city's energy mix.
To enhance the efficiency and reliability of the electricity supply, Istanbul has started adopting smart grid technology. Smart grids use digital communication technology to monitor and manage the production, distribution, and consumption of electricity. This technology helps in reducing energy waste, improving outage response times, and integrating renewable energy sources more effectively.
Electricity consumers in Istanbul have access to various services, including online billing, customer support, and mobile applications for managing their electricity usage. These services provide consumers with detailed information on their energy consumption patterns, enabling them to make informed decisions to reduce their energy bills and environmental impact.
The Ottoman Ministry of Post and Telegraph was established in the city on October 23, 1840. [4] The first post office was the Postahane-i Amire near the courtyard of the New Mosque. [4] In 1876 the first international mailing network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the vast Ottoman Empire—which, in that year, stretched from the borders with Austria-Hungary and Russia at north to the Ottoman provinces of Yemen and Sudan at south and Tunisia at west—was established. [4] In 1901 the first money transfers were made through the post offices and the first cargo services became operational. [4]
Samuel Morse received his first ever patent for the telegraph in 1847, at the old Beylerbeyi Palace (the present Beylerbeyi Palace was built in 1861–1865 on the same location) in Istanbul, which was issued by Sultan Abdülmecid I who personally tested the new invention. [5] Following this successful test, installation works of the first telegraph line between Istanbul and Edirne began on August 9, 1847. [6] In 1855 the Telegraph Administration was established. [4]
In July 1881 the first telephone circuit in Istanbul was established between the Ministry of Post and Telegraph in Soğukçeşme and the Postahane-i Amire in Yenicami. [6] On May 23, 1909, the first manual telephone exchange with a 50 line capacity was established in the Büyük Postane (Grand Post Office) in Sirkeci. [6]
The first automatic telex exchange was established in November 1973. [6] Electronic Mail was put into service between Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Adana on June 28, 1984. [6] In November 1985 the first radio link system was put into service between Istanbul and Ankara. [6] On October 23, 1986, mobile telephone and paging systems were put into service in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir. On March 4, 1987, the first ever video conference in Europe was realized in Istanbul. [6] On February 23, 1994, GSM technology was established in the city. [6] A nationwide Internet network and connection with the World Wide Web was established in 1996. [6]
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States with 8,100 megawatts of electric generating capacity (2021–2022) and delivering an average of 435 million gallons of water per day to more than four million residents and local businesses in the City of Los Angeles and several adjacent cities and communities in southwestern Los Angeles County, California.
The Basilica Cistern, or Cisterna Basilica, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The cistern, located 150 metres (490 ft) southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Today it is kept with little water, for public access inside the space.
Following the proclamation of the Republic, Turkish museums developed considerably, mainly due to the importance Atatürk had attached to the research and exhibition of artifacts of Anatolia. When the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed, there were only the İstanbul Archaeology Museum called the "Asar-ı Atika Müzesi", the Istanbul Military Museum housed in the St. Irene Church, the Islamic Museum in the Suleymaniye Complex in Istanbul and the smaller museums of the Ottoman Empire Museum in a few large cities of Anatolia.
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, straddling the Bosporus Strait, the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is considered the country's economic, cultural and historic capital. The city has a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Turkey, and is the most populous city in Europe and the world's fifteenth-largest city.
The Silahtarağa Power Station was a coal-fired generating station located in Istanbul Turkey. The Ottoman Empire's first urban-scaled power plant, it was in use from 1914 to 1983. The site has since been converted into a university campus for the Istanbul Bilgi University and houses two museums and several facilities. It was refurbished and renamed SantralIstanbul in 2007.
The santralistanbul, opened in 2007, is an arts and cultural complex located at the upper end of Golden Horn in the Eyüp district of Istanbul, Turkey. The center, consisting of an energy museum, an amphitheater, concert halls and a public library, is situated within the Silahtarağa campus of Istanbul Bilgi University that was formerly the first power station of the Ottoman Empire.
The AqueductofValens was a Roman aqueduct system built in the late 4th century AD, to supply Constantinople – the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Construction of the aqueduct began during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantius II and was completed in 373 by the Emperor Valens. The aqueduct remained in use for many centuries. It was extended and maintained by the Byzantines and the Ottomans.
The Theodosius Cistern is one of many ancient cisterns of Constantinople that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The modern entrance is in Piyer Loti Caddesi, Fatih.
The three cities of Abu Dhabi Emirate within the United Arab Emirates – the coastal city Abu Dhabi itself as well as the inland oases Al Ain and Liwa – receive their drinking water supply entirely from desalinated seawater.
The MV Karadeniz Powership Doğan Bey is a Liberia-flagged Powership, a floating power plant, owned and operated by Karpowership. Built 1983 by Mitsui Co. in Ichihara, Chiba, Japan and christened MV Sono, she sailed as a dry cargo ship under various names and flags until in 2010 she was converted into a Powership at the Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey. She supplied electricity to the power grid in south-eastern Iraq. Currently, she supplies electricity to Sierra Leone.
Currently, Turkey has no operating commercial nuclear reactors. However, four VVER-1200 reactors at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, are currently under construction and expected to come online in October 2024. The government is aiming for 20 GW of nuclear.
Energy consumption per person in Turkey is similar to the world average, and over 85 per cent is from fossil fuels. From 1990 to 2017 annual primary energy supply tripled, but then remained constant to 2019. In 2019, Turkey's primary energy supply included around 30 per cent oil, 30 per cent coal, and 25 per cent gas. These fossil fuels contribute to Turkey's air pollution and its above average greenhouse gas emissions. Turkey mines its own lignite but imports three-quarters of its energy, including half the coal and almost all the oil and gas it requires, and its energy policy prioritises reducing imports.
PTT, an abbreviation for Posta ve Telgraf Teşkilatı, is the national post and telegraph directorate of Turkey. Formerly, the organization was named Posta Telgraf Telefon. After the privatization of the telephone telecommunications service business, the directorate was renamed, keeping its acronym. It is headquartered in Ankara, and is known as Turkish Post internationally.
The Istanbul Postal Museum, aka PTT Museum Istanbul, is a postal museum dedicated to the historical development of mail and telecommunication services in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, exhibiting related equipment and instruments as well as a collection of postage stamps. It was established in 2000 by the Turkish Post, and is situated inside the Grand Post Office building at Sirkeci quarter of Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Kızıldere Geothermal Power Plant is a geothermal power plant located at Kızıldere village of Sarayköy district in Denizli Province, southwestern Turkey. The initial power plant with 15 MW installed capacity was expanded in the second phase about 80 MW to 95 MW in total, making the facility Turkey's biggest geothermal power plant. It is planned to expand the power plant in a third and fourth phase.
Glendale Water & Power (GWP) is a municipal utility that serves about 33,744 water and 85,358 electric customers of Glendale, California. It is owned by the City of Glendale, administered by the GWP Commission, and governed by the Glendale City Council.
Turkey uses more electricity per person than the global average, but less than the European average, with demand peaking in summer due to air conditioning. Most electricity is generated from coal, gas and hydropower, with hydroelectricity from the east transmitted to big cities in the west. Electricity prices are state-controlled, but wholesale prices are heavily influenced by the cost of imported gas.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Istanbul:
Emba Hunutlu power station is a 1320 MW coal fired power station in Turkey in Adana Province. As of 2022 it is the largest Chinese foreign direct investment in the country. Despite opposition from many environmental organisations the plant was started up in 2022 and burns Russian coal as it is cheaper than other coal. The plant is less than 2 km from another coal-fired power station, İsken Sugözü.
Çatalağzı power station (ÇATES) is a coal-fired power station in Turkey. Its two units opened in 1990 and 1991, and it was privatised in 2014. The plant was shut down for not meeting new air pollution regulations for coal in Turkey in January 2020, but was granted a one-year temporary operating licence by the Turkish Environment Ministry in June.