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Armenia To Solve Financial Problems At The Expense Of The People

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  • Armenia To Solve Financial Problems At The Expense Of The People

    ARMENIA TO SOLVE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PEOPLE

    Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
    June 11 2014

    11 June 2014 - 1:58pm

    Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to VK

    The Armenian authorities have recently published a statement saying
    that prices for electricity are going to be increased by 3.8-4.3
    drams or by 10 percent. The authorities explain that the increase
    is necessary in order to secure the financial stability of energy
    companies and a stable power supply.

    Within the last two or three days various energy companies, including
    the Armenian atomic power plant, the Yerevan thermal electric power
    station and the Sevano-Razdansky hydro-electric power station have
    been saying that they are facing financial problems, as they have to
    pay back loans and modernize their facilities. The companies have been
    saying that the only way to solve these problems is to increase tarifs
    for power. In such a case the companies will be able to overcome the
    deficit. Experts believe, however, that in future the companies will
    face the same problems.

    Some media reported that the Armenian authorities are negotiating
    the sale of the Electricity Network of Armenia private corporation,
    which now belongs to RAO YeES, to Gazprom. So in order to make the deal
    more favourable to Gazprom the authorities are trying to increase the
    company's efficiency. The fact that at the moment the company does not
    operate efficiently has been confirmed by its chief executive Yevgeni
    Bibin. According to him, in 2012 the company functioned at a loss,
    while in 2011 its profits decreased by 75 percent.

    This means that the company is a bankrupt. Its assets constitute around
    $250 million and it has loans worth $240 million. In other words,
    the company cannot pay its loans back and needs further investment.

    According to the official data, in first quarter of 2014 the
    consumption of energy decreased by 4-5 percent. "The demand for energy
    depends on prices. That is why the population and businesses are
    trying to consume less power. The decrease is already quite tangible
    and production costs more for the energy companies," lawmaker from the
    Flourishing Armenia party Mikael Melkumyan says. According to him,
    the production of bread, vegetables and construction materials will
    also be affected by the issues, since these kinds of products demand
    a lot of power.

    Some experts believe that the reason for this is the cabinet's
    inability to draft an adequate development programme for business.

    They say the government should develop a scheme, in the framework of
    which all the loans should be paid back within 25 years.

    Another reason is that the authorities conduct an unwise policy towards
    energy production. The authorities have launched the construction of
    new energy facilities, while the demand for power is on the decrease.

    One more reason is that the cabinet does not control the operation
    of the Electricity Network of Armenia, which is in fact a foreign
    company. The firm has the unique right to deliver energy to the
    country, which is acquired on the condition that all the necessary
    investment will be provided. How can one explain how a company,
    which was profitable 10 years ago, is now facing bankruptcy?

    Some experts point out that it is unacceptable to solve the problems
    the company is facing at the expense of the population and businesses
    while the social and economic situation is very difficult. In addition
    to that, prices for energy already increased 30 percent last year
    for daytime use and by 40 percent for nighttime. Experts believe the
    state should find other ways to cope with the matter.

    http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/economy/56302.html

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