Lawmakers: Development of electric power system of Armenia should become a priority task for country

ArmInfo. The methodology of estimation of the gas tariff payment bills in Armenia is wrong, Aram Manukyan, Secretary of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Faction, said in Parliament on March 14.      

"An enterprise can consume 1,000 cu m of gas, but the correction coefficient makes the bill for 1,500 cu m, because the gas inspector makes such a decision. No business is insured against it," Manukyan said. 

For his part, Mikayel Melkumyan, MP from the Prosperous Armenia Party Faction, thinks it is necessary to regulate the activities of the natural monopolies. Over the past few years, it was possible to settle that problem by 50%. He thinks that development of the electric power system of Armenia should become a priority task for the country. Meanwhile, the Public Services Regulatory Commission "smothers a fire" instead of settling strategic tasks. The Government is unable to reform the system and the tasks failed by the Government are laid on the regulator. The country annually generates 7.5 bln KW/h (1/3rd of it is generated by the Armenian NPP, with a similar amount being generated by HPPs and TPPs), but no one is responsible for this imbalance, he says.