Unpaid electricity and natural gas bills for residences and workplaces that were destroyed, heavily or moderately damaged, or will be demolished in the 11 provinces affected by the recent Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes in Türkiye will be waved, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

The related Communique of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Cancellation of Energy Consumption Costs under the State of Emergency was published in the Official Gazette on Thursday and immediately entered into force.

Accordingly, accrued but unpaid bills for dates up to Feb. 6, 2023, for electricity and natural gas subscribers whose damaged residences qualify within the scope of the state of emergency declared by the Presidential Decree, the consumption amounts for the period from the last reading to Feb. 6, and the unpaid invoices of these subscribers for the previous periods, if any, and the consumption amounts from the period before the privatization of Türkiye Elektrik Dağıtım A. will be waved.

Electricity and natural gas consumption made illegally will be excluded from the scope of the communiqué.

Related companies will determine the buildings that will be included in the scope of bill exemption in line with the damage status information obtained from the relevant units of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change regarding residences and workplaces, and from the relevant units of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism regarding registered buildings.

According to the determined guidelines, the invoices dated before Feb. 6 but were paid after Feb. 6 will not be compensated, and no claim can be made for these invoices.

Over 52,000 people were killed across 11 provinces leveled by the Feb. 6 tremors, while hundreds of thousands more were injured and millions were left homeless.