Are Electricity Cuts Related to the Post-War Situation? Clarification from the Chairman of the PSRC

In the past year, the frequent electricity cuts in Armenia are not related to the post-war situation or the reduction in the volume of electricity imported from Artsakh. This was stated by Garegin Baghramyan, the Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC), during a press briefing with journalists today.

“The post-war situation has only resulted in a shortage of around 300 million kWh of cheap electricity imported from Artsakh, but this does not affect the regimes; in other words, it is not related to the outages,” he said.

According to the Chairman, the main impacts on the system have come from the temporary shutdown of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant and the non-operation of the 5th energy block of the Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant. Nonetheless, Baghramyan noted that the shortage of electricity was more noticeable during the summer. He stated that there are no such issues today.

“During the summer months, in hot weather, when air conditioners are switched on, there is a significant increase in load,” said Baghramyan.

The PSRC Chairman reminded that negotiations continue with the Russian side regarding the price of gas at the border and also about the commissioning of the 5th energy block of the Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant. Additionally, it is planned to launch a new thermal power plant built with Italian investment in Yerevan by December, which will provide additional capacity to the system.

Regarding the potential changes in the prices of gas and electricity, Garegin Baghramyan announced that the commission has not received any applications regarding these issues. The negotiations on the gas price have not yet concluded, while the PSRC itself is conducting studies to determine the optimal tariff for the next year in the energy system.