In line with this, we have established the first R&D center in the electricity distribution sector, taking technology as our guide, and we continue our innovation-focused investments. Drawing strength from the people of the region, we have increased our number of employees from 2,000 to approximately 8,000 since the privatization process, selecting our employees from our service area. With our mission to provide quality and uninterrupted energy to the 6 million people and 2.2 million subscribers in our service area, we distribute an average of 22.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
As part of our projects to increase energy quality and prevent unregistered use, we have initiated the smart grid transformation with an investment of 9.7 billion TL in 10 years and aim to introduce this transformation to the entire region.