Scope 2 is calculated twice and the two results are reported separately. The location-based result is consumption multiplied by the consumption-point emission factor published by Turkey's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (ETKB); that factor already includes transmission and distribution losses, so adding a loss percentage on top double counts. The market-based result covers the share backed by certificates that meet the Table 7.1 quality criteria, such as Turkish YEK-G certificates, at the certificate's emission rate, and the rest at the grid average, because no residual mix factor is published for Turkey, with that gap disclosed.
Below I walk through each step with numbers. The factors come from ETKB's 2023 information form and the rules from the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance (2015), the version currently in force. The consumption figures are hypothetical.
Why there are two methods
The Scope 2 Guidance requires any company with operations in markets that offer contractual instruments (certificates, supplier-specific factors) to calculate Scope 2 both ways and label each result by method. The guidance calls this dual reporting.
- Location-based: the average emission intensity of the grid where consumption happens. It does not reflect what the company chose to buy.
- Market-based: the emission attributes of the electricity the company bought by contract. Certificates or a supplier factor first, then a residual mix, then the grid average if nothing else exists.
Turkey has the YEK-G certificate system, so the market-based method applies and both results belong in the report.
Location-based: ETKB consumption-point factors
ETKB's Energy Efficiency and Environment Department publishes an annual information form on Turkey's electricity generation and consumption-point emission factors. The ministry's page states that companies can use these values to calculate the Scope 2 emissions of their electricity consumption. The 2023 form (published 26 December 2025) gives:
| Factor | tCO₂/MWh | tCO₂e/MWh |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey average electricity generation (gross) | 0.430 | 0.434 |
| Consumption point connected to the transmission grid | 0.433 | 0.436 |
| Consumption point connected to the distribution grid | 0.465 | 0.469 |
A plant connected at medium voltage to its distribution company uses 0.469; large consumers connected directly to the transmission system use 0.436. The form follows the International Energy Agency methodology, and its data set includes TEİAŞ statistics on generation, consumption and losses as well as the emission intensity of imported electricity.
A common mix-up: ETKB also publishes a "National Electricity Grid Emission Factor" (operating margin, build margin, combined margin). That one is for project-based emission reductions and carbon credits. It does not go into a corporate inventory.
Factor year. The ministry page was last updated on 31 December 2025 and lists 2023 as the most recent year. If you are closing a 2025 inventory now, there is no 2025 factor; use the latest published year and state "2023 factor used" in the report. If you later update to the matching year's factor, treat it as a methodology change and assess it under your base year policy.
Activity data: which kWh
The number that goes in is active energy consumption from the distribution company's invoice or meter readings; reactive energy is not added to the kWh total. Keeping each meter as a separate line lets the verifier match it to the invoice and lets you apply the right factor where connection levels differ. Electricity you consume from your own rooftop solar is not purchased electricity and stays out of Scope 2, as long as you have not sold the certificates for that generation. What goes in is what you draw from the grid. Chapter 5 of the guidance asks for gross, not net, grid purchases: do not subtract what you export. If you are a tenant sharing a building meter, keep the allocation key (floor area, sub-meter) in writing. It is the first document a verifier asks for.
Losses are already in the factor: do not add T&D on top
The consumption-point factor is calculated per unit consumed. The rise from 0.434 at generation to 0.469 at the distribution consumption point reflects energy lost along the grid. Taking that factor and adding a "7.5% transmission and distribution loss" counts the same losses a second time.
Hypothetical site: 2,400,000 kWh a year, connected to the distribution grid.
| Calculation | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Correct | 2,400,000 kWh × 0.469 kgCO₂e/kWh | 1,125.6 tCO₂e |
| Double counted | 1,125.6 × 1.075 | 1,210.0 tCO₂e |
Consumption on the invoice is unchanged while Scope 2 grows by about 84 tonnes, and no check flags it as an error. I still come across this extra percentage in older spreadsheets and some software tools.
There is one more subtlety. According to the GHG Protocol calculation tools FAQ, a buyer that does not own the T&D system should not include T&D losses in Scope 2; they may be reported in Scope 3. The ETKB factor, however, bundles losses into a single value and no official split is published. Treating 0.469 minus 0.434 as a "Turkish T&D factor" is tempting but wrong, because gross generation, imports and the consumption side do not share the same boundary. The honest approach is to disclose in the report that the factor includes losses, rather than splitting the boundary with an invented number.
Market-based: YEK-G and Table 7.1
YEK-G is Turkey's renewable energy guarantee of origin system, set up under the Energy Market Regulatory Authority's regulation published in the Official Gazette on 14 November 2020 (No. 31304); certificates are issued by the market operator. For a certificate to count in market-based Scope 2, it has to meet the quality criteria in Table 7.1 of the Scope 2 Guidance. If it does not, the guidance is clear: use the other data in Table 6.3 for that portion.
| Criterion (Table 7.1) | What you check in practice |
|---|---|
| 1. Convey the direct GHG emission rate of the electricity produced | Are the source technology and emission rate on the certificate |
| 2. Be the only instrument carrying that claim | Has the same MWh been sold again through another certificate or contract |
| 3. Be tracked and redeemed by or on behalf of the reporting entity | Is the redemption record in your company's name |
| 4. Be issued and redeemed as close as possible to the consumption period | Does the production year match the inventory year; if not, why |
| 5. Come from the same market as the consuming operations | A Turkish certificate for a facility in Turkey |
| 8. A residual mix is made available, or its absence is disclosed | Does the report contain the disclosure sentence |
Criterion 6 concerns utility-specific factors and criterion 7 direct purchases from generators and on-site generation; for a typical industrial consumer using YEK-G, criteria 1 to 5 and 8 are the ones that decide.
Criterion 4 sets no numerical limit. A 2024 certificate applied to 2025 consumption is not automatically invalid, but the gap and its justification should be stated.
Biomass and geothermal need extra care. Under section 6.12 of the guidance, CH₄ and N₂O from biogenic energy sources are reported in Scope 2 while biogenic CO₂ is reported outside the scopes, so a biomass certificate does not automatically mean zero. Geothermal plants also release CO₂ with non-condensable gases. For these two technologies, do not enter zero without knowing the certificate's emission rate.
No residual mix: what to write
A residual mix is the emission factor of what is left on the grid after certified renewable electricity has been claimed. The ETKB page lists only generation and consumption-point factors; there is no published residual mix for Turkey. In that case the guidance allows the grid average and asks for two things: document in the inventory that a residual mix was not available, and note that voluntary purchases may lead to double counting between electricity consumers. It also says companies should not try to calculate their own residual mix.
The same hypothetical site, with 1,000,000 kWh of redeemed YEK-G certificates from hydropower produced in 2025:
| Item | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Covered by certificates | 1,000,000 kWh × 0 | 0 tCO₂e |
| Not covered | 1,400,000 kWh × 0.469 (grid average, no residual mix) | 656.6 tCO₂e |
| Market-based Scope 2 | 656.6 tCO₂e | |
| Location-based Scope 2 | 2,400,000 kWh × 0.469 | 1,125.6 tCO₂e |
The two results are not added
1,125.6 and 656.6 are two views of the same 2,400 MWh. Adding them gives 1,782.2 tCO₂e, a number with no physical meaning. For a corporate total combined with Scope 1, the Scope 2 Guidance allows two options: report two inventory totals, one per method, or report a single total and disclose which method it reflects. If you report a single total, the guidance recommends using the same method you use for target setting.
The guidance also recommends stating what percentage of the electricity in the market-based result is actually backed by contractual information. In the example above that is 41.7%.
A caveat: the Scope 2 Guidance is under revision. The 2025-2026 public consultation covered topics such as hourly matching, but no final decision has been made. Build your inventory on the 2015 text that is in force.
How Carbolyt handles it
On the platform, a single electricity entry produces both results: the location-based value goes into the inventory total, the market-based value is carried in a separate field and printed on its own line in the report with a "not additive" note. The factor is taken from the ETKB set covering the inventory year; if that year has not been published, the nearest year is used and a factor-period warning is written into the calculation trail. If someone tries to add a loss percentage to the ETKB factor, the engine refuses with an explicit error, and the fact that the factor includes losses is disclosed in the line's trail.
When a certificate is entered, the system asks for the scheme, a redemption confirmation and document number, the market country, the generation technology and the production year. A certificate from a different market, or one that has not been redeemed, does not reduce the market-based result. A production year that differs from the consumption year triggers a warning citing criterion 4. Biomass and geothermal certificates are not accepted without an emission rate, and when no supplier factor is entered, the missing residual mix disclosure is carried into the report. The full list of references is on the regulation page, and you can test it with your own invoices in a demo account.
Frequently asked questions
Which factor is used for location-based Scope 2 in Turkey?
The Electricity Consumption Point Emission Factors published by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (ETKB). For 2023 they are 0.469 tCO₂e/MWh for consumption points connected to the distribution grid and 0.436 for points connected to the transmission grid (published 26 December 2025). The grid factor calculated for carbon credit projects is not used in corporate inventories.
Should transmission and distribution losses be added to the ETKB factor?
No. The consumption-point factor is calculated per unit of electricity consumed and already carries the losses: in 2023 the generation factor is 0.434 while the distribution consumption-point factor is 0.469. Adding a loss percentage on top counts the losses twice.
Does a YEK-G certificate bring market-based Scope 2 to zero?
Only if the certificate meets the Scope 2 Quality Criteria in Table 7.1 of the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance and the emission rate it conveys is zero. It must be redeemed by or on behalf of the reporting company, come from the same market and be issued as close as possible to the consumption period. For biomass and geothermal certificates the rate is not assumed to be zero.
Are location-based and market-based results added together?
No. They are two calculations of the same electricity. When combining with Scope 1, either report two inventory totals, one per method, or a single total and disclose which method it uses.
Sources
- GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance (2015), Chapters 5-7, Table 7.1
- GHG Protocol, Calculation Tools FAQ (transmission and distribution losses)
- ETKB, Electricity Generation and Consumption Emission Factors (Turkish)
- ETKB, 2023 Turkey Electricity Generation and Consumption Point Emission Factors information form (Turkish)
- Amendment to the YEK-G Regulation, Official Gazette of 17 December 2024 (Turkish)
This article is for information and is not legal advice. Dates and rates reflect the official texts at the time of publication; check the current text before acting.