What Is a Multi-Time Electricity Tariff in Turkey?

In short: A multi-time (three-time) tariff bills electricity at different unit prices in three bands of the day: day T1 06:00–17:00, peak T2 17:00–22:00 and night T3 22:00–06:00. On a single-time tariff every kWh costs the same. The multi-time tariff pays off for customers who can move a meaningful share of consumption to night and use little at peak; for evening-heavy customers it can be more expensive.

Single-time versus multi-time tariff

Regulated retail tariffs in Turkey are defined in Article 18 of the Procedures and Principles on Tariff Applications of Distribution Licensees and Assigned Supply Companies issued by EPDK, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (Official Gazette 31.12.2015, issue 29579). Under this article:

• Single-time tariff: one price applies to energy consumed at any hour of the day.
• Multi-time tariff: different prices apply to energy consumed in defined time bands of the day.

The logic is simple: electricity is expensive in the evening, when the grid is most stressed, and cheap at night, when demand falls. The tariff rewards customers who move consumption from peak to night. Customers whose metering cannot measure multiple time bands are billed on the single-time tariff.

Three-time tariff hours: T1, T2, T3

Article 18 of the Procedures and Principles defines the bands as follows; the TEDAŞ (Turkish Electricity Distribution Company) electronic meter specification also requires meters to be programmed to the same hours by default:

The same article also allows different multi-time tariffs, with Board approval, for specific consumer groups whose metering supports them. Current unit prices are published on EPDK's "Tariff Tables for Electricity Bills" page and change from period to period; the calculations in this article use clearly labelled example prices instead of real ones.

How does the meter record T1/T2/T3?

The prerequisite for a multi-time tariff is an electronic meter capable of multi-time measurement. The meter's real-time clock decides which band is active and writes consumption to the matching register. OBIS codes in the TEDAŞ specification:

• 1.8.0 – total active energy (import)
• 1.8.1 – T1 (day) active energy
• 1.8.2 – T2 (peak) active energy
• 1.8.3 – T3 (night) active energy

Consumption in each band for a billing period is the difference between the register reading at the end and at the start of the period. The specification contains another important detail: if the meter clock fails, all energy is written to T1 and the tariff icons flash. On a meter with a faulty clock, night consumption can therefore be billed at the day price. If T3 unexpectedly stops increasing, have the meter clock checked. Large consumers that need hourly profile data are usually read remotely; see our article What is OSOS (the automated meter reading system) for details.

Who can switch and how?

• Scope: Article 18 tariffs cover regulated consumers. Residential and commercial customers can choose the multi-time tariff if their meter supports it.
• Meter requirement: a meter with multi-time measurement is mandatory. Even with a suitable meter, staying on the single-time tariff is allowed.
• Application: the request is made in writing; it can be submitted through the assigned supply company's call centre, online service centre or mobile app.
• When it starts: it applies from the first billing period following the bill issued with the meter reading at the end of the period in which the request was made.
• Limit: a request to switch to the single-time or multi-time tariff can be made at most twice per calendar year.
• Several meters: if the same customer has several subscriptions at the same premises for technical reasons, the same tariff applies to all of them.

Important exception: for consumers whose annual consumption exceeds the last resort supply tariff (SKTT) limit, the energy charge is the billing-period average market clearing price (PTF) plus the YEKDEM (renewable support mechanism) cost, multiplied by an EPDK coefficient. The 2026 limits are 4,000 kWh for residential customers and 15,000 kWh for other groups such as industry and commerce. For businesses buying as eligible consumers under a bilateral contract, the contract sets the price. In these cases the regulated T1/T2/T3 price difference may not apply as such; confirm with your supplier.

Does the multi-time tariff pay off? Break-even check

The decision rests on one question: is the weighted average price, calculated from how your consumption splits across bands, below the single-time price? The prices below are purely hypothetical example unit prices, not current EPDK values:

Two profiles consuming 1,000 kWh per month:

Calculation: for A, 0.55×3.00 + 0.30×4.50 + 0.15×1.90 = 3.285 TRY/kWh. For B, 0.50×3.00 + 0.15×4.50 + 0.35×1.90 = 2.840 TRY/kWh.

General rule: when T1 is close to the single-time price, the peak premium (4.50 − 3.00) × peak share must not exceed the night discount (3.00 − 1.90) × night share. With these example prices, the night share must be larger than about 1.36 times the peak share. For your own calculation, use the prices in the current tariff table and your own T1/T2/T3 readings. Some suppliers suggest, as a practical yardstick, being able to shift at least one third of consumption to night hours; this is a rough indicator, not a rule.

Load shifting: realistic ideas

• Water heating: an electric water heater or boiler can heat at night on a timer for use during the day; tank insulation losses limit the benefit.
• Electric vehicle charging: 22:00–06:00 is 8 hours; a 7.4 kW AC charger can on paper deliver up to 59 kWh in that window. Scheduled night charging is one of the easiest loads to shift. See EV charging monitoring.
• Pumps: tank filling, irrigation and transfer pumps can often run at night; demand-driven pumps such as booster sets cannot be shifted.
• Chillers and cooling: sites with chilled water or ice storage can move cooling to night. Without storage the effect is limited; setpoint and capacity management during peak hours is a more realistic path.
• Appliances: washing machines and dishwashers can use delayed start.

Some loads cannot be shifted: lighting, shops open in the evening, businesses serving dinner. In industry, moving a shift to night can add labour cost, so the calculation must include total operating cost, not just electricity.

Industrial versus residential

At home the decision mostly depends on habits: a household that is out during the day and concentrates cooking and TV between 17:00 and 22:00 can lose money on a multi-time tariff if it has no night load. For businesses the picture is more complex. Besides band prices, reactive energy, capacity charges and the supply contract also shape the bill. For example, a site that shifts load to avoid peak but neglects compensation can lose its gains to a reactive energy penalty.

Common mistakes and checklist

1. Looking at one month only: summer and winter profiles differ; review the T1/T2/T3 split over several months.
2. Using outdated prices: run the calculation with the current EPDK tariff table.
3. Not checking the meter clock: on a clock fault, consumption is written to T1.
4. Forgetting the switching calendar: the change starts in the next billing period and can be made at most twice a year.
5. Overlooking SKTT or bilateral contract status: pricing works differently for these consumers.
6. Not measuring the shift: after changing tariff, track whether the band split really changed.

Managing a multi-time tariff with Argus EMS

Argus EMS reads meters and energy analysers over Modbus TCP/RTU and M-Bus through an on-site Field Agent, sends the data to the server over TLS-encrypted MQTT, and buffers data locally when the connection drops so it can be sent later. Dashboards show hourly, daily and monthly consumption together with the T1/T2/T3 (day/peak/night) band breakdown, so you can run the break-even check above with your real split and track the effect of load shifting. Reactive ratio tracking with e-mail alarms on threshold breaches, month-end consumption/cost projection and budget tracking are on the same screen. Multi-site businesses can monitor all locations on one screen and export the data. For details, see the electricity monitoring, budget projection and consumption projection pages.