Water supply and sewerage single tariffs will be applied in Armenia

ArmInfo. Starting from  January 1, 2017 water supply and sewerage services single tariffs  will be applied in Armenia. An appropriate decision is taken at the  session of Public Services Regulating Commission on December9. 

According Garegin Baghramyam, the head of the tariff pociy department  of PSRC, the fee for water supply network use will form AMD 153 for 1  cubic meter  (including VAT), and the sewerage services will cost at  AMD 27 for the same (including VAT).

PSRC  has also issued a license to the sole operator of Water and  Sewerage Network - the Company of Veolia. The Company will undertake  the management of 5 actual operators - Yerevan Djour, Armenian Water  and Sewerage, Shirak  Water and Sewerage, Lori Water and Sewerage and  Nor Akunk. To note, for now the lowest tariff is applied in Yerevan,  it forms  AMD 170,256 for 1 cubic meter, and in districts it is at up  to AMD 200. The highest tariff is in Armavir - AMD 204. As ArmInfo  has  nformed earlier, in the beginning of November 2016  a 15-year  term  Lease Agreement has been signed with new operator of water  supply and sewerage - company of Veolia. The lease Agreement states  the basic tariffs for 15 years, where the basic tariff for the first  year will be set as the tariff for retail supply of water and  sewerage services. 

 Starting from the 2nd year the tariff will be  adjusted with due  regard for a number of factors: change of  electricity tariff and  amount of retail supplies, as well as  inflation. The tariffs will be  revised no more often than once a  year. Within 15 years, Veolia  Environment SA, which has been chosen following the international  tender, is to pay a lease fee of nearly  89 bln AMD (about $190 mln)  to the government. Within the next 15  years, the new operator will  invest 37.5 bln AMD (about $80 mln) in modernization of water supply  and sewerage networks. The State Water  Committee has told ArmInfo  that the investments will be mostly spent  on the repair of water  supply network in the remote settlements. So  far the five operators  in Armenia have served 410-420 settlements -  large cities and rural  communities. Nearly 570 communities were  outside the "coverage" of  the companies.  According to the State  Committee, today one of the  key tasks is to include those communities  in the "coverage area" of  the single water supply operator.