Will Water Tariffs Increase from January 1?

Starting January 1, the water tariff may increase by 8.5 drams. The Public Services Regulatory Commission has examined the proposal from the "Veolia Jur" company to raise tariffs and presented its calculations. The draft decision by the commission is already included in the agenda of the commission's meeting scheduled for November 29.

Accordingly, the commission proposes to set the water tariff at 208.42 drams per cubic meter, up from the current 200 drams. The "Veolia Jur" company had proposed to set the tariff at 209 drams for all categories, but as a result of monitoring and calculations, the commission has decided that the tariff for vulnerable consumers will remain unchanged at 180 drams. The tariff for other consumers will be set at 208.42 drams.

It is worth noting that as recently as August of this year, the chairman of the commission, Garegin Baghramyan, stated that "Veolia Jur" proposed an increase of 8-9 drams. He mentioned that it is not yet a fact that the tariff will rise for consumers, as the government intends to subsidize the increasing portion: "Given the unprecedented inflation that was not planned, it is highly likely that the difference in the inflation rate can be compensated, subsidized, in order to keep the price stable," he said.

Let us remind you that back in 2018, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan promised that drinking water in Armenia would not increase in price until 2024.