Monday, November 4 2019 18:14

ArmInfo. Current water tariff will be saved in 2020, however, the issue of gas and electricity still remains open. This was stated by Chairman of the Public  Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia Garegin Baghramyan  on November 4 in an interview with reporters.

According to Baghramyan, according to established practice, every  year, until August 10, the company "Veolia Jur" contacts the PSRC,  taking as a basis the base tariff and adjustments depending on the  tariff for electricity, inflation, as well as the volume of retail  supplies in the water supply sector. In the latter case, actual  volumes of water sales are taken into account in comparison with the  basic indicators fixed in the lease. But, since Veolia traditionally  uses data from the beginning of the year to June, and the PSRC also  has data for July, when the tariff is revised, the regulator is based  on its own, more recent data. "In July of this year, compared with  July 2018, water consumption increased by about 1 million cubic  meters, which automatically leads to a certain reduction in the  tariff. That is, only on the basis of this factor, the proposed  tariff of 181.8 drams is reduced by 1 dram" - he noted. The recorded  increase in consumption, as explained by the head of the PSRC, is the  result of a decrease in theft of water and illegal consumption, as  well as economic growth. For the third year in a row, the Regulator  monitors the actual volumes of water supply by "retailers" to  identify cases of illegal connection to the water supply system and  violations.  As Baghramyan pointed out, another monitoring of retail  supply volumes in the water supply sector has been completed today.  "I can inform you that the current water tariff will be maintained,  and there will be no rise in price," he said. At the same time, as  the head of the Regulator said, from January 2020 the government will  not subsidize the difference in tariff in the amount of 11.414 drams  per 1 cubic meter. m of water, established from January 1, 2018 at  the level of 191.414 drams per 1 cubic meter.  As for the possible  revision of the tariff for gas and electricity, then, according to  the head of the PSRC, there is no news in this direction. "In terms  of electricity, it will be possible to speak in more detail only  after 10-15 days, when the balance of electricity consumption and  production for 2021 will be clarified," he said.

Touching on the statements that the gas tariff for the end consumer  will not increase in any case in the winter season, Garegin  Baghramyan pointed out that such "restrictions" are due to purely  procedural terms.  That is, when the Russian Gazprom decides on a gas  tariff, Gazprom Armenia will apply for a revision of the tariff for  the domestic consumer, which the PSRC will consider within 80  business days. Then the tariff will be determined from the end of the  specified 80 working days and will enter into force after 30 days -  in the spring of 2020.

Earlier, ArmInfo reported that the single water supply operator of  Armenia - the company "Veolia dzhur" applied to the PSRC to review  the current tariff for drinking water from the current 180 drams per  1 cubic meter. up to 181.8 drams (including VAT). As the head of PSRC  Garegin Baghramyan assured an ArmInfo correspondent, despite the  availability of the application, the tariff will remain unchanged  both in 2020 and 2021. According to him, over the past months, the  Armenian government has been negotiating with "Veolia dzhur" around  the water tariff. As a result, due to additional tax fees and in  exchange for a reduction in the rent for the network, an agreement  was reached to reduce the basic tariff for water. As a result, a  single water supply operator appealed to the Regulator with a request  to increase the water tariff to 181.8 drams, and not 211 drams  stipulated by the 15-year agreement for 2020. The last important  factor that gives rise to an optimistic forecast by PSRC is the  position recorded in the license agreement with Veolia Dzhur. "When a  tariff is specified in the range of plus or minus 0.5% of the current  tariff, the tariff is revised. Based on the above factors, I am more  than sure that the current tariff will not be revised. Moreover, the  tariff will not be kept at the expense of the planned investment, "-  then explained the head of the department. As a result, as Garegin  Baghramyan stated, with the company Veolia Djur (Veolia Djur) - the  daughter of the French Veolia Enviroment SA - Ed.) An agreement was  reached to maintain the basic water tariff at the level of 176.4  drams for 2020-2021.