ArmInfo. An application by Gazprom-Armenia, or rather Gazprom, to raise gas tariffs for Armenia is inappropriate and unacceptable. Such an opinion was expressed to ArmInfo economist Vahagn Khachatryan.
"In fact, the same company supplies and distributes gas inside Armenia. Gazprom owns both gas and the entire internal gas separation system. This company, in principle, even owns a company that provides services to our homes. In this light, there are multiple references to "the price of gas at the border" is not clear and looks out of place. And if Gazprom continues to behave in this spirit, it has nothing to do in Armenia, "he stressed.
On April 1, Gazprom Armenia CJSC applied to the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia with a request to establish a single tariff for all consumers of 135909.6 drams, or 11% per thousand cubic meters. The weighted average current tariff for consumers is 122428.3 drams per thousand cubic meters. In particular, the company proposes to abolish the current preferential tariff for social strata of the population, and to lower it slightly for other consumers, and bring it to a single indicator. It should also be noted that on January 1, 2020 PJSC Gazprom maintained a gas price for Armenia at the border of $ 165 per thousand cubic meters for the coming year.
In this light, the statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "on chronic problems with gas pricing within Armenia" gives Khachatryan the impression that the Russian diplomat is not fully aware of the realities in the union state. On the whole, the lack of a complete picture of the "gas" component of the Armenian-Russian relations, in his opinion, is inherent in their highest level, which is also evidenced by the periodic references of the top officials of the Russian Federation to the "low cost of gas at the border". The economist, in this aspect, sees the need for clarification of the situation, assigning a large role to PSRC in this. Khachatryan is convinced of the need for the commission to abandon the long-term approaches of the participant in corruption processes to the issue of gas tariffs. The processes in which the highest representatives of the Armenian government participated, since without them all this was simply impossible.
Moreover, the "gas issue", according to his estimates, was used as a tool for resolving issues not only in external but also in internal relations. In this light, he recalled the circumstances of the formation of Armenia's debt to Gazprom of $ 300 million. As well as pursuing domestic political goals, periodic benefits, and social subsidies to the population.
"But today the situation has radically changed. Legitimate politicians have come to power in Armenia who do not want to use a gas tool to resolve domestic political problems. In this light, these very authorities, in this case in the person of the PSRC, are obliged to fully disclose to society all the details of the formation of internal tariffs for gas. PSRC is obliged to publish without concealment how it was done yesterday and how it is done today, "the economist concluded. -
