Wednesday, April 27 2016 18:18

ArmInfo. The electricity and gas tariffs in Armenia will shortly be reduced, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan said in Parliament on April 27, when replying to the question of Mikayel Melkumyan, a lawmaker from the Prosperous Armenia Party. 

The prime minister recalled that during Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's visit and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, relevant instructions were given to consider reduction of the Russian gas price. Afterwards, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Yerevan and it was reported that the gas price will be reduced from the current $165 to $150 per 1,000 cu m.

Abrahamyan stressed that Gazprom Armenia has already announced its intention to apply to the Public Services Regulatory Commission to reduce the tariff for consumers. The PSRC will discuss the issue and take a relevant decision. The gas tariff will be reduced from 156 to 146.7 AMD per 1 cu m. The tariff for the subscribers consuming over 10,000 cu m of gas is expected to drop from 276.98 to 257.56 USD. In this light, the prime minister said that along with reduction of the gas tariff for the generation facilities the electricity tariff should also be reduced. But it is for the PSRC to take the final decision. "In any case, I am sure that the tariffs of both electricity and gas will be decreased," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, ArmInfo reported that by the end of this week, Gazprom Armenia will apply to the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) to reduce the gas tariffs. Yesterday Gazprom Armenia reported that it suggested reducing the gas tariffs for households from 156 to 146.7 AMD per 1 cu m.

The operator said that the specified reduction concerns subscribers consuming no more than 10 thsd cu m of gas per month (households and a part of small and medium businesses). The operator suggests reducing the gas tariff for the subscribers consuming over 10 thsd cu m of gas from 276.98 to 257.56 USD in AMD equivalent (at the AMD/USD exchange rate as of the 25th day of the previous month. The tariff includes VAT).

PSRC Spokesperson Mariam Stepanyan has told ArmInfo that the application will be submitted to the PSRC by the end of the week, according to the regulations. Before that the regulator is to conduct a desk audit of the relevant documents of the company.     

To note, under the Armenian Law "On Energy", the tariff can be revised on the initiative of both the licensed entity and the Commission. The Commission revises the tariff (reaffirms or changes it) and issues a decree within 90 days after receiving the licensed entity's application for revision.  To note, the Russian gas price for Armenia is currently $165 USD per 1,000 cu m.  However, the consumers pay $318 at the current exchange rate, and the large consumers - subscribers purchasing over 10,000 cu m monthly - pay $277 per 1,000 cu m.