Thursday, September 10 2015 16:27

 The Government of Armenia on September 7 signed an agreement with the international Deloitte & Touche consulting firm to provide advice on the regulation of the energy sector of Armenia.

According to the press service of the PSRC within the framework of this consultation Deloitte & Touche is to conduct functional analysis of the energy sector, to explore the entire chain - from the producer to the consumer, as well as an analysis of all the components of the pricing process. At the same time, Deloitte & Touche has to assess potential risks in case of retention of the old electricity tariff, explore options to optimize the tariffs and, if necessary, hold consultations on the program of long-term strategic development of the sphere.
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To carry out the work stipulated in the framework agreement, the PSRC has provided all the necessary information. At the request of the consulting company there was organized a discussion with the representatives of Deloitte & Touche and the energy sector of Armenia.  It should be noted that "Deloitte", along with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG is included in the "Big Four" auditing firms in the world.

Recall that the decision of the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) on the increase in energy tariffs that has been confronted with protests in Armenia. On June 19 mass demonstrations against the decision of the PSRC began in Yerevan. On June 23 the police brutally dispersed a peaceful demonstration (more than 20 people were injured, 237 detained) on Baghramian Avenue in the capital city. However, the authorities failed to break the will of protesters, and they announced that they intend to continue their struggle until the abolition of the new tariffs for electricity. Later, President Sargsyan said that before the completion of the audit in the "Electric Networks of Armenia" the government would take over "the burden of the electricity tariff increases". The PSRC at a meeting on July 27 approved a decision to send invitations to the international consulting companies to submit their proposals for advice on the regulation of the energy sector. The decision was made taking into account the statements of the President, in order to increase public confidence in the activities of the PSRC and the exclusion of various factors on the validity of the process of setting electricity tariffs in 2015. As a result, the invitation to tender were sent to the top 5 consulting companies by world rated site www.vault.com: Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Strategy & (part of the group PriceWaterhouseCoopers) and Deloitte Consulting.  On August 6, within the prescribed period, the Commission received replies from only two companies - McKinsey & Company, and Deloitte Consulting. According to the minister of international economic integration and reform Vache Gabrielyan Deloitte & Touche services will cost the state less. If, after consulting costing $ 230 thousand and 16 weeks the application will be recognized as fair, then the consumers will pay the new tariff. Otherwise, the state will apply measures to recover from the "Electric Networks of Armenia" paid amount and bring the officials responsible for the rise in price to justice.