Serzh Sargsyan can avert rise in electricity rates
Only Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan can avert the possible rise in electricity tariffs, say members of a pressure group campaigning against the pending price hike. “Only one word uttered by Serzh Sargsyan is enough to solve many problems remaining unsolved for several months. His words, “Taron, the sight is not beautiful,” were enough to stop the construction of trade pavilions in Mashtots avenue,” Maxim Sargsyan, a member of "No to Robbery" civil initiative, told reporters on Friday, June 5. On June 19, the group is holding a rally and march in Yerevan against the possible rise in electricity rates. The initiative is displeased to hear the same justifications and assurances that the price hike is inevitable. “We hope the authorities will be prudent enough to make the Electric Networks of Armenia not to increase electricity tariffs. We hope that they will not ignore the voice of people who attended the May 27 rally against the energy price hike,” he said. Levon Zakaryan, another member of the initiative group, added that the government does not realize that people are determined to fight till the end. Speaking about the statement of Parliament Vice-Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov who said the discussion on electricity price rise will be held behind closed doors because they do not want the discussion to be turned into a show, Levon Zakaryan said shows have become a common thing at the National Assembly. In May, the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) filed an application with the PSRC asking to raise the energy tariff for the population by 17.08 drams. In particular, according to the application, daytime (7 am-23 pm) and nighttime (23 pm-7am) tariffs should be raised to 58.93 drams and 48.93 drams per kilowatt-hour, respectively. Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Yervand Zakharyan, supported the company’s bid and said that its huge debt [amounting 37.6 billion drams] resulted from the unplanned halt of the nuclear power plant, dry year in 2014, which affected the work of hydropower plants and breaches of balance modes.
