Businesses to Pay Less for Gas than Population: Press

Only 30 percent of total natural gas consumption in Armenia falls on the population; however, individual consumers pay from 22 to 23 drams more per one cubic meter of gas than large enterprises, Zhoghovurd newspaper reports.

According to Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) data, the average tariff for one cubic meter of natural gas supplied to the consumer currently stands at about 131 drams. The paper writes that PSRC intends to raise the price for the population to 146.7 drams per cubic meter, while for large businesses, the tariff will be US$257 per 1,000 cubic meters, that is, 123.4 drams per one cubic meter.

“This is a simple example of looting the people for the sake of businesses. According to this model, hydro power plants, gas stations and other businesses that consume gas are more 'vulnerable' than the population,” Zhoghovurd notes.