Gas prices set to rise in Armenia

A Russian-controlled company providing natural gas to Armenia had applied to raise prices, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said Monday. ArmRusgasprom CJSC has asked the Public Services Regulatory Commission to reset the gas price to 221,000 AMD (530 U.S. dollars) from 132,000 AMD (316 dollars) per thousand cubic meters, Sargsyan told a parliamentary session. Russia sells gas to Armenia at 189 dollars per thousand cubic meters, the same price it charges Belarus, which is considered to be the cheapest in the international market, he said. However, Sargsyan said, an additional 30-percent export tax is added to gas provided to Armenia because it is not a member of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The Armenian government has announced it will subsidize 30 percent of the gas price for vulnerable social groups. The Commission has made no decision on the final price of gas. The commission is an independent state body that regulates prices in the sectors of water, electricity and gas supplies.