Saturday, May 2 2020 11:02

ArmInfo. An application by Gazprom-Armenia, or rather Gazprom, to raise gas tariffs for Armenia is inappropriate and unacceptable. Such an  opinion was expressed to  ArmInfo economist Vahagn Khachatryan.

"In fact, the same company supplies and distributes gas inside  Armenia. Gazprom owns both gas and the entire internal gas separation  system. This company, in principle, even owns a company that provides  services to our homes. In this light, there are multiple references  to "the price of gas at the border" is not clear and looks out of  place. And if Gazprom continues to behave in this spirit, it has  nothing to do in Armenia, "he stressed.

On April 1, Gazprom Armenia CJSC applied to the Public Services  Regulatory Commission of Armenia with a request to establish a single  tariff for all consumers of 135909.6 drams, or 11% per thousand cubic  meters. The weighted average current tariff for consumers is 122428.3  drams per thousand cubic meters. In particular, the company proposes  to abolish the current preferential tariff for social strata of the  population, and to lower it slightly for other consumers, and bring  it to a single indicator. It should also be noted that on January 1,  2020 PJSC Gazprom maintained a gas price for Armenia at the border of  $ 165 per thousand cubic meters for the coming year.

In this light, the statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei  Lavrov "on chronic problems with gas pricing within Armenia" gives  Khachatryan the impression that the Russian diplomat is not fully  aware of the realities in the union state. On the whole, the lack of  a complete picture of the "gas" component of the Armenian-Russian  relations, in his opinion, is inherent in their highest level, which  is also evidenced by the periodic references of the top officials of  the Russian Federation to the "low cost of gas at the border".  The  economist, in this aspect, sees the need for clarification of the  situation, assigning a large role to PSRC in this. Khachatryan is  convinced of the need for the commission to abandon the long-term  approaches of the participant in corruption processes to the issue of  gas tariffs. The processes in which the highest representatives of  the Armenian government participated, since without them all this was  simply impossible.

Moreover, the "gas issue", according to his estimates, was used as a  tool for resolving issues not only in external but also in internal  relations. In this light, he recalled the circumstances of the  formation of Armenia's debt to Gazprom of $ 300 million. As well as  pursuing domestic political goals, periodic benefits, and social  subsidies to the population.

"But today the situation has radically changed. Legitimate  politicians have come to power in Armenia who do not want to use a  gas tool to resolve domestic political problems. In this light, these  very authorities, in this case in the person of the PSRC, are obliged  to fully disclose to society all the details of the formation of  internal tariffs for gas. PSRC is obliged to publish without  concealment how it was done yesterday and how it is done today, "the  economist concluded. -