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Armenian Sociologist: Rise In Gas Price To Trigger Backlash, Not Rio

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  • Armenian Sociologist: Rise In Gas Price To Trigger Backlash, Not Rio

    ARMENIAN SOCIOLOGIST: RISE IN GAS PRICE TO TRIGGER BACKLASH, NOT RIOT

    ARKA
    Feb 2, 2010

    YEREVAN, February 2. /arka/. The expected gas price hike will prompt
    backlash, but this backlash won't develop into mass protests, Aharon
    Adibekyan, the head of Sociometer independent center for sociologic
    studies, said on Monday.

    "I don't think this will trigger a riot, but some backlash will be
    seen sooner or later," he said.

    Adibekyan told ARKA News Agency that the gas price rise would drive
    other prices up, and this will aggravate public discontent.

    He thinks any price hike should be logical and socially just - it
    should take into account living standards.

    In his opinion, a wrong time is chosen for that - this step will make
    impacts of the recession on people more painful.

    The authorities knew about the planned gas price hike and were to
    have been prepared for that to take care of socially unsecured strata,
    he said.

    Adibekyan thinks people will lessen gas consumption, and ArmRosgazprom
    CJSC will have its profit dwindled as a result.

    Armenia's national gas distribution company ArmRosGazprom has asked
    Armenia's Public Services Regulatory Commission to reconsider the
    current prices of natural gas charged from consumers.

    According to the application, the company wants consumer gas price
    to be raised from present AMD 96,000 to AMD 136,000 per one thousand
    cubic meters of gas, VAT included.

    The company has also proposed to change the pricing formula for
    consumers that use 10,000 and more cubic meters of gas a month.

    Under a Russian-Armenian agreement Russia's Gazprom is set to decrease
    the price it charges for gas supplied to Armenia. The price of Russian
    gas for Armenia rose from $110 to $154 per one thousand cubic meters
    in 2009 April and is expected to rise to $180 from April 1, 2010.

    ArmRosgazprom is the sole gas supplier to Armenia. Russian Gazprom
    owns 80% in it, the rest is held by the Armenian government.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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