Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced an adjustment in electricity price calculations amid protests in Bodrum and Rize against recent price hikes.

Erdogan has set a higher consumption limit on the lowest electricity tariff of 210 kilowatts per month, up from the previous 150 kilowatts.

Turkey raised electricity prices by 50 percent for low consumption households and 100 percent for high demand commercial customers on January 1 following a surge in global energy prices and the depreciation of the lira.

The lira's 44 percent loss last year led to runaway inflation, with consumer price inflation reaching 36.1 percent in December, the highest level since 2002.

A large crowd gathered at the office of local electricity supplier Aydem in the southwestern resort of Bodrum to protest the price increase, chanting slogans calling for Erdogan's government to step down, local media reported.

Turkish pipeline company BOTAS also raised the price of natural gas by 25 percent in early January. On Tuesday, it announced a 14 percent increase in the price of gas supplied to power plants.

In Rize, where Erdogan's family lived before moving to Istanbul, a crowd gathered in the city's main square to call on the government to cancel the price increase. They also drew attention to the rise in the price of bread and gasoline, the Cumhuriyet newspaper reported.

On the eve of Erdogan said that Turkish citizens will have to bear the burden of high inflation for some time.

His government has come under fire from the political opposition and some economists for ordering the central bank to cut interest rates late last year despite soaring inflation. Erdogan argues that high interest rates cause inflation, which goes against traditional economic theory that rates can be used to control price increases.

Turkey imports almost all of the natural gas and fuel it consumes, meaning it cannot provide protection against any rise in global energy prices.