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PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 - 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 - 10) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website: www.acnis.am
19 July, 2005
ACNIS is Monitoring Armenia's Energy Security
Yerevan -- The Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS) today convened a policy-roundtable within frames of regional
economic development and potential mutual cooperation. The topic,
Armenia's energy safety matters and perspectives, was fairly urgent,
and the meeting brought together those in charge of the sector,
experts, independent researchers, and media representatives.
ACNIS research coordinator Stiopa Safarian greeted the capacity
audience with opening remarks. "Within the complex of national
security, the energy component has an undisputable importance as
the energy policy touches not only upon important regional and
geopolitical problems but also the vital interests of the country's
residents. And no matter how much we rest assured that Armenia is
an electricity-exporting country, its safety nonetheless, is not
adequately guaranteed because of the many still-unresolved problems
in this sector," Stiopa Safarian stated.
Presenting Armenia's concept for energy safety and the main avenues
for its policy toward the sector's development, Armenia's Deputy Energy
Minister Areg Galstian underscored the plans to be implemented by the
year 2025, and which down the road aim at safeguarding the country's
capacity and energy safety. "At the heart of the strategic plan for
the sector's progressive enhancement there are qualitative indices:
guarantee of energy independence; technologies which economize
energy; usage of domestic resources and alternative energy sources;
and others which have been cultivated by taking global experience
into account," the Deputy Minister mentioned detailing the activities
to be undertaken in the next 5 years. Galstian also assured that the
Iran-Armenia gas line would be put to use within the same time span,
and projects would be brought to life which envisage the following:
raising the safety level of Armenia's nuclear power plant; gas supply
to the country entire; restoring the heat-supply system; operating
the hydro-electrical plant of Meghri and first reactor of Yerevan's
thermo-electrical plant; modernizing the underground gas storage;
and building small hydro-electrical plants.
The policy intervention by Levon Yeghiazarian, Director General of
the Scientific Research Institute of Energy Company, encompassed the
strategic matters concerning Armenia's energy safety. Yeghiazarian
deemed especially important the necessity to cultivate concepts
which include a database for normative-technical documents, a
development plan for the system, price formation and tariff policy
within the electricity market, fuel supply complex, investment plans,
and the energy system's dependability and seismic safety. However,
according to Yeghiazarian, aside from global problems, all consumers
are interested in service quality in first place. "Since the field
for legal relationships is open between the consumer and the supplier,
no one faces responsibility when our household appliances break down
as a result of high voltage," Yegiazarian underlined.
In his address on "The Energy Legislation and European Union
Approaches", Areg Barseghian, an expert in energy and transport
infrastructures from the Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice
Center (AEPLAC) pointed out that according to some parameters, when
it came down to energy safety, Armenia's legal field did not meet the
requirements of European Union laws. European legislative acts which
coordinate in particular the oil and oil products', electricity, gas,
and nuclear energy markets are non-existent in Armenia. "European
legislation contains norms which are not defined by Armenia's law on
energy, because these norms do not refer to the realities in Armenia,"
the expert maintained. According to him, altogether with that, the
incompatibility of the legislation which regulates the energy sector,
the absence of "common service" precepts for one, is very often having
an adverse effect on trying to satisfy consumer demand.
Is there any other option to the current concept for Armenia's
energy safety? Searching for an answer to this question, economic
policy analyst Gegham Kiurumian reached the conclusion that the
major guarantee for Armenia 's safety is hydro energy enrichment
and not much attention is being paid to it. "It is time to reject
living on the account of imported fuel and to put our hopes on our
own resources alone," the analyst stressed, expressing concern at
the same time regarding insufficient usage of small hydro-electrical
plants, solar energy, and important domestic sources. According to
the figures presented by Kiurumian, Armenia is one of the countries
which lags behind the most when it comes to the annual amount of
electricity supply per capita.
The formal interventions were followed by contributions by Levon
Vardanian, the Development Board cabinet member of Armenia's Ministry
of Energy; Edward Aghajanov, an economist with the Armat Center;
Haik Gevorgian, Haikakan Zhamanak daily's columnist on economic
matters; Robert Kharazian, Public Utilities' Regulatory Board member;
independent expert Hrant Baghdasarian and many others.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia's first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS
serves as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy
challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet
world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic
thinking and a wider understanding of the new global environment. In
2005, the Center focuses primarily on civic education, conflict
resolution, and applied research on critical domestic and foreign
policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or
27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; e-mail [email protected] or [email protected];
or visit www.acnis.am.
Armenian Center for National and International Studies
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel: (+374 - 10) 52.87.80 or 27.48.18
Fax: (+374 - 10) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website: www.acnis.am
19 July, 2005
ACNIS is Monitoring Armenia's Energy Security
Yerevan -- The Armenian Center for National and International Studies
(ACNIS) today convened a policy-roundtable within frames of regional
economic development and potential mutual cooperation. The topic,
Armenia's energy safety matters and perspectives, was fairly urgent,
and the meeting brought together those in charge of the sector,
experts, independent researchers, and media representatives.
ACNIS research coordinator Stiopa Safarian greeted the capacity
audience with opening remarks. "Within the complex of national
security, the energy component has an undisputable importance as
the energy policy touches not only upon important regional and
geopolitical problems but also the vital interests of the country's
residents. And no matter how much we rest assured that Armenia is
an electricity-exporting country, its safety nonetheless, is not
adequately guaranteed because of the many still-unresolved problems
in this sector," Stiopa Safarian stated.
Presenting Armenia's concept for energy safety and the main avenues
for its policy toward the sector's development, Armenia's Deputy Energy
Minister Areg Galstian underscored the plans to be implemented by the
year 2025, and which down the road aim at safeguarding the country's
capacity and energy safety. "At the heart of the strategic plan for
the sector's progressive enhancement there are qualitative indices:
guarantee of energy independence; technologies which economize
energy; usage of domestic resources and alternative energy sources;
and others which have been cultivated by taking global experience
into account," the Deputy Minister mentioned detailing the activities
to be undertaken in the next 5 years. Galstian also assured that the
Iran-Armenia gas line would be put to use within the same time span,
and projects would be brought to life which envisage the following:
raising the safety level of Armenia's nuclear power plant; gas supply
to the country entire; restoring the heat-supply system; operating
the hydro-electrical plant of Meghri and first reactor of Yerevan's
thermo-electrical plant; modernizing the underground gas storage;
and building small hydro-electrical plants.
The policy intervention by Levon Yeghiazarian, Director General of
the Scientific Research Institute of Energy Company, encompassed the
strategic matters concerning Armenia's energy safety. Yeghiazarian
deemed especially important the necessity to cultivate concepts
which include a database for normative-technical documents, a
development plan for the system, price formation and tariff policy
within the electricity market, fuel supply complex, investment plans,
and the energy system's dependability and seismic safety. However,
according to Yeghiazarian, aside from global problems, all consumers
are interested in service quality in first place. "Since the field
for legal relationships is open between the consumer and the supplier,
no one faces responsibility when our household appliances break down
as a result of high voltage," Yegiazarian underlined.
In his address on "The Energy Legislation and European Union
Approaches", Areg Barseghian, an expert in energy and transport
infrastructures from the Armenian-European Policy and Legal Advice
Center (AEPLAC) pointed out that according to some parameters, when
it came down to energy safety, Armenia's legal field did not meet the
requirements of European Union laws. European legislative acts which
coordinate in particular the oil and oil products', electricity, gas,
and nuclear energy markets are non-existent in Armenia. "European
legislation contains norms which are not defined by Armenia's law on
energy, because these norms do not refer to the realities in Armenia,"
the expert maintained. According to him, altogether with that, the
incompatibility of the legislation which regulates the energy sector,
the absence of "common service" precepts for one, is very often having
an adverse effect on trying to satisfy consumer demand.
Is there any other option to the current concept for Armenia's
energy safety? Searching for an answer to this question, economic
policy analyst Gegham Kiurumian reached the conclusion that the
major guarantee for Armenia 's safety is hydro energy enrichment
and not much attention is being paid to it. "It is time to reject
living on the account of imported fuel and to put our hopes on our
own resources alone," the analyst stressed, expressing concern at
the same time regarding insufficient usage of small hydro-electrical
plants, solar energy, and important domestic sources. According to
the figures presented by Kiurumian, Armenia is one of the countries
which lags behind the most when it comes to the annual amount of
electricity supply per capita.
The formal interventions were followed by contributions by Levon
Vardanian, the Development Board cabinet member of Armenia's Ministry
of Energy; Edward Aghajanov, an economist with the Armat Center;
Haik Gevorgian, Haikakan Zhamanak daily's columnist on economic
matters; Robert Kharazian, Public Utilities' Regulatory Board member;
independent expert Hrant Baghdasarian and many others.
Founded in 1994 by Armenia's first Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffi K.
Hovannisian and supported by a global network of contributors, ACNIS
serves as a link between innovative scholarship and the public policy
challenges facing Armenia and the Armenian people in the post-Soviet
world. It also aspires to be a catalyst for creative, strategic
thinking and a wider understanding of the new global environment. In
2005, the Center focuses primarily on civic education, conflict
resolution, and applied research on critical domestic and foreign
policy issues for the state and the nation.
For further information on the Center call (37410) 52-87-80 or
27-48-18; fax (37410) 52-48-46; e-mail [email protected] or [email protected];
or visit www.acnis.am.