New PM says vulnerable consumers must pay less for electricity, gas

PanARMENIAN.Net - Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan ordered on Thursday, September 15 that relevant agencies develop a strategy which would allow socially vulnerable people to pay less for electricity and gas at the expense of other consumers.

Chairing a government session, Karapetyan told the Public Services Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and that of Labor and Social Affairs “to team up for a logical mechanism.”

He said, however, that the changes should be made not at the expense of the budget, but the businesses providing such services.

So it wasn’t entirely clear whether non-vulnerable consumers or the businesses should pay the difference once a mechanism is created.

Another of the issues the newly-appointed premier weighed in on was corruption. He said that new committees will be established to tackle the issue.

But meanwhile, Karapetyan said, the State Revenue Committee should ensure the immediate implementation of tax regulations by major manufacturers and importers who are considered privileged.

He said that tax inspections should be carried out exclusively in entities posing risk and checkups in small and medium-sized enterprises must be implemented only in extreme cases.