Chairman of the Inter ROA, Boris Kovalchuk, meets with President Serzh Sarkissian in 2012 (Source: Office of the President of Armenia)
YEREVAN–In a statement released today by Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC), Armenian officials rejected claims made by the chief of the Inter RAO, Boris Kovalchuk, that Armenia’s existing system of energy tariff regulation and rules is to blame for the losses incurred by the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), calling Kovalchuk’s position “unacceptable.” The Inter RAO is a Moscow-based Russian energy holding company which owns Armenia’s power distribution network.
The PSRC also stated that it is ready to prove Kovalchuk wrong during discussions with international consultants. It insists that Armenian tariff regulation legislature is in full compliance with international practice.
“Under the circumstances, we consider it unacceptable that, instead of paying even more attention to its own deficiencies and shortcomings, an attempt is being made to seek a reason to justify them,” reads the statement released by the PSRC on Thursday.
In statements made yesterday, Kovalchuk claimed that the ENA has paid Armenian power plants more for their electricity than it was supposed to without receiving corresponding “compensation from consumers.” He said the “insufficient increase in tariffs in the past 11 years” was compounded by last year’s longer-than-anticipated stoppage of the Metsamor nuclear plant and decreased output by Armenian hydroelectric facilities.
PSRC Chairman, Robert Nazarian, and other officials were quick to dismiss Kovalchuk’s claims on Wednesday.
Source: Daily
Link: Armenia’s Regulatory Body Says Russian Inter RAO Position is ‘Unacceptable’
