Economist: The "gas" relations between Armenia and Russia should be  ended

ArmInfo.The "gas" relations between Armenia and Russia should be ended and, accordingly, it is necessary to clearly separate the political component from the economic component.  Economist Vahagn Khachatryan expressed a similar opinion during the video bridge organized by the Hodvac3 club.

"We are well aware that no one could have foreseen the situation that  Gazprom is facing. Today, it is much more profitable for companies to  sell gas on the domestic market than on external ones. As for  Armenia, if the expected increase in domestic tariffs does happen,  annually it will cost the country $ 30 million. The fact that  Armenia's transportation costs are 15-20% higher than other countries  should also be taken into account," he noted.

According to the estimates of the economist, subscribers who consume  up to 10 thousand cubic meters of gas annually will not even  fee the  decrease in tariffs  by 4 drams per cubic meter promised by Gazprom  Armenia.  The same can not be said about the socially disadvantaged  segments of the population and business, for which the company  intends to increase the price of gas by 35 drams.

In the political sense, such an increase in domestic tariffs,  according to the economist, will be a blow to the back of the  Armenian government. In an economic sense, given Gazprom's interest  in continuously increasing gas sales, this process will lead to  almost no results. The economic entities and the population of  Armenia, according to his forecasts, will simply not be able to  increase the level of consumption.

"At the same time, the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC)  has so far failed to explain to all of us the pricing methodology of  even current gas tariffs, not to mention the new application by  Gazprom Armenia. The basis of the price increase  is not clear:  whether this is the linking of the cost of gas to the cost of oil or  to the cost of gas in the Orenburg region of the Russian Federation.   In any case, Armenia as a state has levers of influence on the  determination of tariffs by Gazprom, and of course, these levers must  be used, "summed up economist. Last week, Armenian Deputy Prime  Minister Mher Grigoryan sent a letter to Gazprom Chairman Alexey  Miller with a proposal to begin negotiations to reduce gas prices due  to the negative impact of coronavirus on the country's socio-economic  development.  At the same time, Yerevan offers Moscow the opportunity  to pay in national currency, that is, in rubles.  Armenia buys gas  from Russia at $ 165 per 1,000 cubic meters, while Armenian consumers  pay Gazprom Armenia $ 290 per 1,000 cubic meters.

The very next day, Gazprom Armenia CJSC published a release about  plans to apply to the Public Services Regulatory Commission with a  proposal starting July 1 to increase the tariff for subscribers who  consume up to 600 cubic meters of gas per year who are eligible for  family or social benefits, from 100 to 135.9 thousand drams. It is  proposed to lower the price for subscribers using up to 10 thousand  cubic meters of gas annually from 139 to 135.9 thousand drams.

Meanwhile, at a press conference today, Gigoryan explained that he  had not yet received a response from Gazprom. He also noted that it  is beneficial for Armenia and other EAEU countries to buy gas in  Russian rubles from Russia and this issue is on the agenda of the  Council of Ministers of the EAEU member countries.