Production halts at Kangal Thermal Power Plant, approximately 950 workers placed on leave

Production at Kangal Thermal Power Plant in Sivas came to a complete halt due to a coal supply cutoff; approximately 950 workers were placed on paid and unpaid leave. Köseoğlu Madencilik İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ, which has operated in the plant's licensed coal fields since 2019, halted coal production and shipments starting October 30, 2024, citing accumulated receivables as justification.

With an installed capacity of 457 megawatts, the facility holds the distinction of being Turkey's 15th largest coal-fired power plant and had generated electricity uninterrupted for 37 years since 1989. Konya Şeker had purchased the plant in 2013 for 985 million dollars. In its statement, the company also argued that technical faults at the plant had caused production losses and revenue declines, rendering the facility economically unsustainable.

Konya Şeker's other facility, Soma B Thermal Power Plant, which the company acquired in 2015 for 685.5 million dollars, underwent a similar process last year. Following enforcement proceedings initiated due to unpaid debts and interest owed to Türkiye Kömür İşletmeleri (TKI), the plant was transferred to TKI on October 6 for 6 billion 946 million lira, returning to public ownership after 11 years.

Konya Şeker management had previously stated their regret over entering the energy sector, describing the acquisition of both plants as "a very wrong decision."