Gas Price for Vulnerable Groups Will Not Change, Claims Deputy Prime Minister

Negotiations with the Russian side regarding gas prices have not been in vain. Today, during a Q&A session with the government in the National Assembly, Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan made this statement in response to the opposing claims of MP Tadevos Avetisyan from the "Armenia" faction.

"To make such claims, one must understand how the gas price is maintained at the border for Armenia and what the current global gas prices are," Grigoryan noted.

Referring to the request submitted by "Gazprom Armenia" to the Public Services Regulatory Commission, which proposes to set a unified gas price for all consumers in Armenia at 135.6 drams per cubic meter, replacing the current average price of 128 drams, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that it is not a dogma that this proposal will be accepted as presented.

"I am more inclined to be confident that the gas price will not change for low-income groups," Grigoryan said, explaining that even in the case of caloric content calculations, it would not affect a significant portion of consumers.

The opposition MP also expressed concern that an increase in the gas price, as per the proposal, would primarily affect low-income households, raising their cost from 100 drams to 135 drams per cubic meter. Additionally, Tadevos Avetisyan argued that the change in gas prices would trigger a chain reaction of price increases, whereas such increases were not accounted for in the budget approved for 2022.

However, Mher Grigoryan insisted that in terms of caloric calculations, the gas price for the consumer would remain unchanged when consuming the same volume of gas. "If you associate the gas price with the price of goods, I understand that. But this happens all over the world," the Deputy Prime Minister added.

It is noteworthy that Armenian consumers currently pay differentiated rates: low-income groups pay 100 drams per cubic meter, other residents pay 139 drams per cubic meter, and large consumers (businesses) that consume 10,000 cubic meters of gas monthly pay the equivalent of 255.91 USD per 1,000 cubic meters. The proposal also suggests that the new rate be applied to natural gas with a lower calorific value of 8500 kcal/m³.