Armenia liberalizes its electricity market
07.02.2018,
15:52
Armenia’s parliament has adopted today in the second and final reading a set of amendments and additions to the Law on Energy and a number of related laws, designed to liberalize the national energy market, specify the functions of responsible government agencies and those of the regulator, stimulate also interstate trade in electricity and protect the interests of consumers.
YEREVAN, February 7. /ARKA/. Armenia’s parliament has adopted today in the second and final reading a set of amendments and additions to the Law on Energy and a number of related laws, designed to liberalize the national energy market, specify the functions of responsible government agencies and those of the regulator, stimulate also interstate trade in electricity and protect the interests of consumers.
Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Hayk Harutyunyan said that the current law that has been in force since 2001 is based on the principle of a single electricity seller, which means that the single operator buys all the produced electricity in the country and distributes it among users.
"The amendments in question are designed to provide consumers with the opportunity to choose their own supplier of electricity," said Harutyunyan.
He said all the changes will help the country to shift to the free market, expand the functions of the system’s operator and help large consumers get access to the wholesale electricity market. He said also that the changes envisage guaranteed supplies, while the surplus can be sold in the wholesale market.
According to various estimates, Armenia’s installed electricity generation capacity is 2.5 times higher than domestic consumption.
"We will be able to more efficiently use the available production potential, if a well-established trading market and wholesale trade mechanisms with neighboring countries operate. The revised law is expected to facilitate that process," Harutyunyan said.
According to him, in the first two weeks of 2018, electricity consumption decreased by 10% compared to the same period in 2017, but production increased by 20%, as exports nearly doubled. --0—
Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Hayk Harutyunyan said that the current law that has been in force since 2001 is based on the principle of a single electricity seller, which means that the single operator buys all the produced electricity in the country and distributes it among users.
"The amendments in question are designed to provide consumers with the opportunity to choose their own supplier of electricity," said Harutyunyan.
He said all the changes will help the country to shift to the free market, expand the functions of the system’s operator and help large consumers get access to the wholesale electricity market. He said also that the changes envisage guaranteed supplies, while the surplus can be sold in the wholesale market.
According to various estimates, Armenia’s installed electricity generation capacity is 2.5 times higher than domestic consumption.
"We will be able to more efficiently use the available production potential, if a well-established trading market and wholesale trade mechanisms with neighboring countries operate. The revised law is expected to facilitate that process," Harutyunyan said.
According to him, in the first two weeks of 2018, electricity consumption decreased by 10% compared to the same period in 2017, but production increased by 20%, as exports nearly doubled. --0—
