Armenian National Congress calls on the citizens to join the campaign against rising energy costs on May 27

 Armenian National Congress (ANC) calls on the citizens of Armenia to join the march against rising energy costs on May 27, Levon Zurabyan, the head of ANC Faction in the Parliament, said at the weekly parliamentary briefings.

Zurabyan welcomed the radical stand of the people on the "outrage" in the energy system. "Ordinary citizens must not be responsible for the colossal debts of the Electric Networks of Armenia amounting to $250 million."

Artsvik Minasyan, in turn, says the situation in the sector requires thorough inquiry to find out how that debt has been accumulated. "The rising energy costs will serious affect the solvency of our citizens and the economic development of the country," Minasyan says. 

Gagik Melikyan, Secretary of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, also blames ENA for mismanagement saying ENA's  application for revision of the electric power rate cannot be considered substantiated.

To remind, on May 8, the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia received an official application from "Electric Networks of Armenia" (ENA) CJSC for raising the electric power tariff, PSRC Spokesperson Mariam Stepanyan has told ArmInfo's correspondent.  Earlier, the company disseminated a statement about its intention to file an application to the PSRC.  ENA (subsidiary of Inter RAO) suggests increasing the daytime tariff to 58.93 AMD per 1KW/h versus the current 41.85 AMD, and the nighttime tariff - to 48.93 AMD from the current 31.85 AMD. The PSRC may consider ENA CJSC's application for 80 working days. In case the Commission satisfies ENA's request, it will become the third rise in the electricity tariffs for the past 2 years. In July 2013 electric power rose in price from 30 to 41.8 AMD, with the nighttime tariff growing from 20 AMD to 31.8 AMD. The second rise in the tariffs (by 4 AMD) was registered in summer 2014.  The authorities of the country (in the person of Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Yervand Zakharyan) are trying to shift the blame for the growth in tariffs to the "poor management of ENA CJSC and misappropriation". To recall, Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Iosif Isayan said that ENA CJSC borrowed USD 220 mln against the guarantee of the Armenian Government. Consequently, if the company is unable to repay the loan, these obligations must be assumed by the taxpayers.