Armenian Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Areg Galstyan thinks that the demands of the "No to Robbery!" civic initiative are groundless.
On June 20, Areg Galstyan told journalists that the growth in tariffs will have negative social consequences, but at the moment he thinks there is no alternative. "This is an involuntary rise in tariffs and the new tariffs are completely justified, so, the demonstrators' demands are groundless," he said, noting that the new tariffs do not include the expenses caused by the poor management of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC.
When replying to ArmInfo's question, Galstyan said he could not guarantee prevention of another growth in tariffs in 2015. "We hope this year there will be no problems with the operation of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant," he said.
To remind, as many as 200 people stayed all night in the Liberty Square, as a sit-down strike was announced after a thousands-strong rally against the rising energy costs in Armenia on June 19. The sit-down strike will continue till June 22. The members of "No to Robbery" public interest group that organized Friday rally in Liberty Square demanded that authorities rescind the decision on increasing energy tariffs and reconsider the previous ones. They are determined to move towards the president's residence if the authorities have not met their demands by that date.
To note, on June 17 the Public Services Regulatory Commission raised the electric power tariffs by 6.9 AMD to about 50 AMD per 1 kWh. ENA CJSC had insisted on 17 AMD rise in the rate because of the company's debts. This decision has sparked public protests in the country. The decision even angered the political and public organizations and the opposition forces of Armenia that blame ENA for mismanagement. The Company, in turn, does not guarantee uninterrupted power supply to the country, unless the power rate is increased by 17 AMD.