Armenians set to pay more for gas
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
Friday, April 18
The consumer price for natural gas in Azerbaijan looks set to rise next month after new Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargisyan announced the government will stop subsidizing gas from May 1.
The subsidy has been in place since April 2006, when the price Armenia paid for natural gas jumped from USD 56 to USD 110 per thousand cubic meters, according to the news agency Armenia Now.
Government officials said that a surge in natural gas consumption last winter means that the state sum allotted to subsidize tariffs has already been spent.
Armenians have complained about rising prices on basic goods in the wake of the February presidential election, and last month President Serzh Sarkisyan launched a committee to investigate the matter.
Some Armenians have already expressed concern at the latest price hike. “The increase in the income of a majority of the population does keep pace with rising prices,” Yerevan resident Albert Arakelyan told Armenia Now.
“Besides, there is a fear that the increase in the gas tariff will entail a rise in electricity prices,” he added.
The subsidy has been in place since April 2006, when the price Armenia paid for natural gas jumped from USD 56 to USD 110 per thousand cubic meters, according to the news agency Armenia Now.
Government officials said that a surge in natural gas consumption last winter means that the state sum allotted to subsidize tariffs has already been spent.
Armenians have complained about rising prices on basic goods in the wake of the February presidential election, and last month President Serzh Sarkisyan launched a committee to investigate the matter.
Some Armenians have already expressed concern at the latest price hike. “The increase in the income of a majority of the population does keep pace with rising prices,” Yerevan resident Albert Arakelyan told Armenia Now.
“Besides, there is a fear that the increase in the gas tariff will entail a rise in electricity prices,” he added.