Gas prices for household consumers to remain unchanged (video)
The new gas prices will be determined by the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) and not by Gazprom Armenia, says Mikael Melkumyan, a lawmaker from the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK). ARF-Dashnaktsutyun member Artsvik Minasyan says the PSRC will have to exert great efforts to maintain the current prices. In the meantime, the spokesperson for Gazprom said gas prices for household consumers will remain unchanged. Vardan Ayvazyan, a member of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, knows what the state-owned Russian gas monopoly means by saying that reduced gas prices will not relieve the pockets of ordinary consumers. “When the gas prices were approved one dollar w as traded at 409 drams. Today one dollar costs 470 drams. In the result of the appreciation of the US dollar, ordinary consumers pay 55 dollars less to Gazprom. Under an intergovernmental agreement signed between Armenia and Russia, Gazprom Armenia pays Gasprom in dollars,” he said. Aram Manukyan, a lawmaker from the Armenian National Congress (HAK), says if the import prices have changed, it will automatically affect gas prices. “Russians have not decided to cut gas prices for the sake of Armenian authorities or considering our membership to the Eurasian Economic Union,” he said. “The price has changed for the entire world, including Europe, Ukraine and Belarus.” Gazprom chief Alexei Miller announced this week that the gas price for the Republic of Armenian will be lowered to $165 per thousand cubic meters. It stood at $190 until now.
