CHP deputy chair says two million people cannot access to electricity in quake-zone

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CHP deputy chair Ahmet Akın has called for the electricity and natural gas bills to be written off for the buildings which are damaged or demolished in the earthquakes that hit southeastern Turkey.

Akın recalled the government’s announcement about the postponement of the collection of electricity and natural gas bills in the earthquake zone and criticized this decision, saying "The natural gas and electricity bills of our earthquake victims should be deleted immediately instead of being postponed.”

“More than 500,000 users in 11 provinces affected by the earthquake still cannot be supplied with electricity. In other words, at least two million citizens in the earthquake zone have been in darkness for days," he added.

Previously, Akın on Feb. 19 pointed out that power companies have to place generators to the cities with more than 100,000 population according to electricity distribution regulations.

"The emergency plans of the distribution companies and the existing generators were insufficient. Many districts hit by the earthquake did not even have generators," he said, according to reporting by the daily Birgün.

Southeastern Turkey has been still shaken by the devastating earthquakes. On Feb. 20, four earthquakes with over 5.0 magnitudes hit southern Hatay province, two weeks after the devastating Feb. 6 quakes.

The death toll rose to 41,156 as of Feb 20 for the previous earthquakes. Six people have died in the earthquakes that occurred on Feb. 20 and approximately 294 people have been injured.

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