Electricity subsidy decision to be taken after August 1, MP says
27.06.2016,
17:39
Sukias Avetisyan, a parliament member from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), told a news conference today it was not clear yet whether the government and the new owner of the national electric utility will continue subsidizing the electricity prices after the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) decided last Friday to lower the tariffs by at least 5 percent.
YEREVAN, June 27. /ARKA/. Sukias Avetisyan, a parliament member from the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), told a news conference today it was not clear yet whether the government and the new owner of the national electric utility will continue subsidizing the electricity prices after the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) decided last Friday to lower the tariffs by at least 5 percent.
The subsidy was introduced last summer by the government and Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian tycoon who bought the Electrical Networks of Armenia. The daytime electricity price for Armenian households rose from 42 to almost 49 drams (10 U.S. cents) per kilowatt/hour last summer. The subsidy is valid until August 2016 for those households which consume up to 250 KWh a month.
According to Avetisyan, the decision to subsidize these households or stop it will be taken after new electricity prices come into force on August 1.
The daytime rate for households (from 7.00 am to 11 pm is reduced by PSRC from 48.78 drams to 46.2 drams (5.3% decline), and the nighttime rate - from 38.78 drams to 36.2 drams (6.7% decline) per one kWh.
After acquiring the utility in 2015 September Tashir Group pledged to introduce international standards within five years and improve the management of the utility. The new owner also committed to reducing technological losses of the company by at least 2%.
Tashir Group consists of about 200 companies, including 30 shopping malls and two dozen office buildings and hotels across Russia. With total assets estimated by Forbes magazine at $4.5 billion, Samvel Karapetyan is one of the world’s richest Armenians.
The ENA was said to have more than $220 million in outstanding debts to Armenian power generating plants and commercial banks. It was sold to Russian Inter RAO in 2006 at $73 million by Midland Resources, a British-registered company. ($1 – 475.94 drams). -0-
The subsidy was introduced last summer by the government and Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian tycoon who bought the Electrical Networks of Armenia. The daytime electricity price for Armenian households rose from 42 to almost 49 drams (10 U.S. cents) per kilowatt/hour last summer. The subsidy is valid until August 2016 for those households which consume up to 250 KWh a month.
According to Avetisyan, the decision to subsidize these households or stop it will be taken after new electricity prices come into force on August 1.
The daytime rate for households (from 7.00 am to 11 pm is reduced by PSRC from 48.78 drams to 46.2 drams (5.3% decline), and the nighttime rate - from 38.78 drams to 36.2 drams (6.7% decline) per one kWh.
After acquiring the utility in 2015 September Tashir Group pledged to introduce international standards within five years and improve the management of the utility. The new owner also committed to reducing technological losses of the company by at least 2%.
Tashir Group consists of about 200 companies, including 30 shopping malls and two dozen office buildings and hotels across Russia. With total assets estimated by Forbes magazine at $4.5 billion, Samvel Karapetyan is one of the world’s richest Armenians.
The ENA was said to have more than $220 million in outstanding debts to Armenian power generating plants and commercial banks. It was sold to Russian Inter RAO in 2006 at $73 million by Midland Resources, a British-registered company. ($1 – 475.94 drams). -0-
