“Electricity price increase can be the end”
Electricity price increase can have a serious impact on the society, says economist Vardan Bostanjyan. He considers the adoption of such a decision to be an absurdity in such a vulnerable and difficult situation of Armenian economy, “According to the official data, the poverty rate in the country has reached 34 %, the number of migrants has increased, there is a lack of investments. All this is conditioned by a number of objective and subjective reasons. In the background of all this electricity price increase is very painful.” Bostanjyan thinks that the fact that serious people have already taken to the streets means that the society cannot resist anymore, “I don’t want to exaggerate, but it can be the end.” According to the words of the economist, political and civic willpower is needed in order to take the country out of this situation, “The expenses of the ENA are obviously wasteful, much money has been simply vanished. It seems that there is no money in our budget. Electricity price increase is a result of bad management, but we don’t have an alternative. The only means is the public control over the system.” The gaps in the management system of the ENA are obvious, adds Vazgen Safaryan, Chairman of the Financial-Economic and Budget Affairs Commission of the Public Council, “If the state had its interest in it, it would control all the processes and everything would have been different.” Mr. Safaryan is sure that electricity price increase will cause 10-12 % increase in prices of products. Member of Pubic Council Karen Baburyan also considers this price increase to be disappointing, but he thinks that the state doesn’t have an opportunity to control the energy system, “Ministry of Energy doesn’t have continuous working style. Every new head takes his steps, which is very unacceptable.”
