Electric Networks of Armenia audit to start in next few days: PM

PanARMENIAN.Net - An audit of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) Company will start within the next few days, Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan said in the resort town of Tsaghkadzor, Panorama.am reports.

“The society will have the opportunity to get answers to all troubling questions,” he said.

According to the press service of Armenian government, the PM touched upon the power tariff rise in Armenia, noting that the government will express its position after Deloitte & Touche CIS Company presents its findings. The company will provide consulting services to Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) concerning the regulation of tariffs in energy sector. Deloitte & Touche CIS will start operating after the contract is signed.

The PM said that the government will keep its promise to subsidize the AMD 6.93 increase in the power tariff until the completion of the audit.

The electricity tariff hike came into effect in Armenia on August 1. Earlier, Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) Company filed an application to Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia (PSRC) regarding an increase in electricity tariffs, a hike that the parliamentary opposition and civil society considered as unfounded and serving the interests of ENA. Until August 1, 2015 the daytime and night tariffs for population stood at AMD 41.85 and 31.85 per KWh, respectively. The ENA proposed raising the tariffs to AMD 58 and 48 respectively. However, the Commission only partially granted the ENA application on a rise in tariffs. The power tariffs in Armenia have increased by AMD 6.93 instead of 17.

As President Serzh Sargsyan said at the June 27 consultation with officials responsible for the economic policy in Armenia , cancelling the decision on power tariff rise is “very dangerous”. For this reason, the government will cover the tariff rise until the conclusion of an audit of Electric Networks, he said.