Wednesday, November 22 2017 13:31

ArmInfo. The tariff for water  in Armenia from the current 180 drams will increase to 191,414 drams  per cubic meter. The Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of  Armenia approved the application of a single operator of water supply  in Armenia - the company Veolia Djur (subsidiary of the French Veolia  Enviroment SA) to increase the water tariff on November 22.

Garegin  Bagramyan, Head of the Tariff Policy Department of the PSRC, said  that the tariff for retail services for water disposal and drinking  water supply will total 191,414 drams per cubic meter (including VAT)  instead of the current tariff of 180 drams per cubic meter. Of these,  the tariff for water supply will be 162.702 drams, and for drainage  (water purification) - 28.712 drams. According to Baghramyan, water  tariffs, as part of the lease agreement with the company Veolia, for  the second year of its activity should be adjusted depending on the  tariff for electricity, the inflation rate, as well as the volumes of  retail supplies in the water supply sector. "Taking this into  account, the company offered to raise the tariff to 194.3 drams," the  head of the PSRC tariff policy department said. Based on the results  of the PSRC monitoring, as well as taking into account the losses in  the network, the planned baseline consumption for the year 2018 of  116.2 million cubic meters, as well as changes in the electricity  tariff and exchange rates, the water tariff was set at 191.4 drams.  The tariff for supply of wholesale drinking water services and  drainage will amount to 57,423 drams per cubic meter against the  early 47,853 drams. The tariff for the drainage of underground waters  of the "Yerevan Metro named after Karen Demirchyan" CJSC will be  11,114 AMD per cubic meter. Tariffs come into force on January 1,  2018.

At the same time, within the framework of the order of the Prime  Minister of Armenia in conjunction with the PSRC, proposals have been  developed to neutralize the effect of tariff increases on the average  consumer. According to Armen Sergoyan, the head of the water supply  and drainage department of the State Water Management Committee of  Armenia, one of these days the relevant proposal will be submitted to  the government for consideration. "Within the framework of the  proposal, it is planned that the water tariff for the ordinary  consumer will remain unchanged," he said, pointing out that the  difference of 11.4 drams will be compensated at the expense of Veolia  Djur rent to the state budget of the country. In August this year.  the unified operator of the water supply and sanitation sector of  Armenia, Veolia Djur, requested the increase of the water tariff from  the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC). Murad Sargsyan, the  spokesman of the company, told ArmInfo that all the company's actions  are based on a 15-year lease agreement, according to which it is  obliged to submit an application to the state regulator in August  each year in order to clarify the tariff for the next year.

A year earlier, when the Armenian government announced the results of  an international tender to determine a single water supply operator  in the country, it was officially announced that the priority was  given to the company that offered the lowest tariff for water - the  French Veolia Enviroment SA. "Single tariff for water in Armenia in  the next 15 years, if it does, is insignificant," the regional  vice-president of the French corporation Malika Genduri told  journalists on November 21, 2016 at a press conference on the  completion of the tender. Then she did not name the value of the  future tariff, adding that it will be determined by the regulatory  body. "As you know, we have been supplying Yerevan with water for 10  years. I can say that of all the 40 plus countries where the company  operates, the tariff in Yerevan is the lowest. He can rise, but  insignificantly - given the obligations that we will take on  ourselves, now and outside of Yerevan, "said Genduri. At the same  time, the company undertook to significantly reduce losses in the  water supply sector, and responsible persons assured that at least  two years after the establishment of a single tariff in the territory  of Armenia, a new revision of it will not be made.

In the meantime, starting from January 1, 2017, the republican single  tariff for water for residents of Yerevan was raised from 170,256  drams for 1 cubic meter of water to 180 drams, including VAT.   Participants of the process hastened to assure the citizens of RA  that the increase comes from their own interests, since the funds  will be used to improve the system and expand the service network. As  Mushegh Karapetyan, advisor to the Water Supply and Sanitation  Department of the State Committee for Water Resources of the Ministry  of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources, stated at the time,  the state policy is to include the unified water supply operator in  the service area that has remained until today.  Meanwhile, in May  this year. the chairman of the State Water Committee of Armenia Arsen  Harutyunyan told ArmInfo correspondent that today Veolia has no  contractual obligations and the community water infrastructure can be  transferred under the management of a single operator only after the  appropriate formation.