Energy power market liberalization discussions started in Armenia

ArmInfo. Discussions on energy  power market liberalization and international trade support  started  in Armenia. This was stated by the press office of the Ministry of  Energy Infrastructures and natural resources. 

According to the source, after the Government decision taken on July  29. 2016, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Armenia within the  United States Agency of International Development ( USAID) suggested  its actions plan to all the stakeholder parties. 

To mention, after  summarizing the Program in the first semester of  2017, the Document  will be submitted for the Government approval.  According to Areg  Galstyan,  the Advisor to the Minister and Ex  Deputy Minister, a simultaneous work is being carried in respect to  amendments to the  Law on Energy. "This will secure the transition to  the market liberalization," Areg Galstyan accentuated, expressing the  opinion that the electric power framework of the Republic today needs  a rapid liberalization and improvement, within the purpose of foreign  trade implementation in respect to neighbor countries. For that, the  Deputy Minister went on,  the country has appropriate preconditions  capsulated recently. Despite the competitive options at the market  are still  restricted, and there is an essential difference in the  tariff for  power generation  objects, these factors should not be  considered as the obstacles to reject the sole buyer model. The  capsulation of a single competitive market is pretty feasible.

The Public Services Regulating Commission has already approved the  Concept of new tools implementation in respect to the improvement and  coordination of electric power engineering  framework.  It is planned  to set the limits and tools of liability both for producers and  consumers of the energy. For today, neither power generating entities  nor consumers carry responsibility  for the volumes of generation and  consumption (ordered capacities). And the responsibility for actually  produced and used volumes of the power should become  one of the  point of best international practives.  According to Areg Galstyan,  the electric power market liberalization will make an immediate  impact on the tariffs. "We expect that the implementation of  competitive elements will promote the tariffs decrease.  Under these  conditions every participant of the market  will try to decrease own  costs to occupy the most comfortable position at the market and to  sell own production," Deputy Minister has stated earlier.  To remind,  in  Jan 2017 the  electric power output in Armenia grew by 13.6%  versus Jan 2016,  totaling 775.6 mln kWh. 

The National  Statistics Service of Armenia reports that in Jan 2017   versus Jan 2016 the thermal power plants increased electric power    output by 43.9% y-o-y to 353.1 mln kWh. The hydropower plants  decreased output by 9.1% to 2351.4 million kWh. The electricity   generated by the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant made up 140.7 million   kWh (down 14.6% versus Jan 2016). Over the period under review, 31.2   thsd GJ of thermal power was generated (10.6% y-o-y rise). Other   sources generated 0.3 mln kWh of electric power (down 25% versus Jan   2016).

To note, throughout 2016 electric power generation in Armenia dropped   by 6.2% and totaled 7315.2 mln kWh. Thermal power plants decreased   the output by 7.8%, while the hydropower plants increased the  electricity output by 6.6%. The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant reduced   the output by 14.6%. Thermal power generation dropped by 43.7%.