Published since 1951
Published on November 29, 2006
Armenian Regulators Order Gas Price Cut
- State regulators ordered on Wednesday an almost 10 percent decrease in the retail price of natural gas supplied to individual consumers in Armenia, pointing to the strengthening of the national currency, the dram. The Public Services Regulatory Commission obligated the ArmRosGazprom (ARG) national gas distributor to charge households 59 drams (16 U.S. cents) per one cubic meter, down from the existing fee of 65 drams, starting from January 1. “We were obliged to make such a decision. No other regional country has seen such exchange rate fluctuations,” Robert Nazarian, the commission chairman, said. He argued that the price of Russian gas supplied to Armenia is fixed in U.S. dollars. The Armenian dram has gained more than 40 percent in value against the dollar since the start of its dramatic appreciation three years ago. The process has left the authorities in Yerevan under growing opposition pressure to cut key utility tariffs. The gas price cut is a welcome development for a growing number of Armenians that use gas for heating their homes during winter months. Centralized gas supplies to the local households were disrupted with the outbreak of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1992 and began to be slowly restored in 1997. According to ARG, 84 percent of the country’s population now has access to the relatively cheap fuel, saving at least $160 million in combined expenditures on winter heating each year. Nazarian’s commission ordered the price cut in response to ARG’s request for an increase in its separate gas tariff for power plants and chemical enterprises. The commission allowed the Russian-controlled utility to only slightly raise it to $153 per thousand cubic meters of gas. The weaker dollar means that the corporate consumers will actually pay less in dram terms. The gas prices would have been much higher had the Armenian government not controversially agreed last April to hand over more energy assets to Russia’s state-run gas monopoly, Gazprom. Those included a major thermal power plant and a controlling stake in ARG. Gazprom is also expected to gain control of an under-construction gas pipeline from neighboring Iran. The deal followed Russia’s decision late last year to double the price of its gas for Georgia and Armenia to $110 per thousand cubic meters. It essentially allowed the latter to continue pay about $60 until the end of 2008. It remains unclear what the price will be after that. The Russians announced plans last month to charge Georgia $230 per thousand cubic meters next year and may well set the same tariff for Armenia in 2009.
- By Shakeh Avoyan
Headlines for November 29, 2006
Armenia, Azerbaijan Report More Progress On Karabakh
By Harry Tamrazian in Prague, Karine Kalantarian and Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia and Azerbaijan have reported further progress towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev saying that the peace process is nearing its “final ...Parliament Approves Armenian Budget For 2007
By Astghik Bedevian and Emil Danielyan
The Armenian parliament approved on Wednesday the government’s draft budget for next year that calls for an almost 16 percent increase in public spending projected to total a record-high 558.7 billion ...Armenian Regulators Order Gas Price Cut
By Shakeh AvoyanState regulators ordered on Wednesday an almost 10 percent decrease in the retail price of natural gas supplied to individual consumers in Armenia, pointing to the strengthening of the national currency, ...Parliament Paves Way For Anthem Change
By Astghik BedevianThe National Assembly passed on Wednesday a controversial government bill that keeps open the possibility of a change of Armenia’s national anthem, something which is strongly opposed by a junior member ...
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Today in Armenian history- 1868 Death of Mkrtich Peshiktashlian, writer and public figure. He was born in 1828.
- 1868 Death of Mkrtich Peshiktashlyan (public figure) in Constantinople. He was born in 1829.
- 1876 Death of Nahapet Rusinyan (physician and public figure) in Constantinople. He was born in 1819.
- 1920 Soviet power is established in Armenia.
- 1922 Inauguration of the Lenin irrigation canal in Echmeeadsin.
- 1926 Birth of painter Grigor Khanjyan in Yerevan. He died in 2000.
- 1926 Opening of Yerevan's soap and oil factory and lumber mill.
- 1928 Opening of Gyumri's cotton-mill and the "May Revolt" power station.
- 1929 Opening of the Leninakan-Artik railroad.
- 1929 Inauguration of the Yerevan Youth Theatre.
- 1930 Opening of Sardarapat's irrigation canal.
- 1931 Opening of the Kartchevan irrigation canal in the Meghri region.
- 1933 The chemical plant of Kirovakan and the cement factory of Davaloo start operations.
- 1934 Inauguration of the Yerevan-Kanaker railroad.
- 1935 M.I. Kalinin visits Yerevan.
- 1937 Yeghisheh Charents (writer) is murdered in 1937 by the Soviet Police. He was born in 1897.
- 1939 Catholic Gevorg the Sixth addresses the governments of the USSR, USA and Great Britain requesting the reunification (with Armenia) of the Armenian territories occupied by Turkey.
- 1943 The Armenian SSR Academy of Sciences is opened.
- 1944 Opening of the Loree and Adgaman (Martooni region) irrigation canals.
- 1951 Death of Levon Shant (writer, public figure). He was born in 1869.
- 1960 Inauguration of the eternal flame in Shahumyan Park to commemorate those who died for the sovietization of Armenia.
- 1965 Inauguration of Meekael Nalbandyan's (politician/writer) monument in Yerevan.
- 1970 Hrazdan's mineral-chemical plant's cement factory starts production.
- 1992 Artsakh forces liberate the villages of Hayi Bazar, Loolidooz, Ghozloo, and Gharajanli in the northern front of the Lachin corridor.
- 1998 Death of Karp Khachvankyan (actor) in Yerevan. He was known as the "Prince of Laughter". He was born in 1923 in Akhaltskha (Georgia).
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