Speculation about gas price increase exaggerated – minister

Speculation about a possible increase in gas prices is exaggerated, as Armenia has not received any signals through official channels.

The Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, David Khudatyan, said,  noting that cooperation with Gazprom Armenia is proceeding smoothly.

“Our work with Gazprom Armenia partners is going quite well. We have had a stable gas supply over the past year, despite weather fluctuations. We are also working with our partners on investment programs. I do not see any problematic issues in our work,” the minister said.

Addressing whether Armenia has alternative energy resources to compensate for a possible increase in gas prices, Khudatyan emphasized the importance of strengthening energy security.

“Regardless of possible scenarios, any country should ensure its own energy resources. In our case, we are primarily focusing on solar power plants,” he noted.

According to the minister, Armenia’s energy sector has seen significant growth in solar energy.

“Last year, about 10 billion kWh of electricity was produced in Armenia, of which more than 1.6 billion kWh was generated by solar power plants. The Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant produced about 29 percent of total output, while solar power plants already produce about 60 percent of Metsamor’s output, which is important.

In previous years, we have recorded double growth in the number of transactions in the liberalized market across various segments of the solar energy sector, both in the number of suppliers and in the number of solar power plant installations in households,” Khudatyan said.

He added that Armenia concluded the previous year with stations having an installed capacity of 1,100 megawatts, which has now increased by another 100 megawatts.

“In the near future, a draft law on the licensing procedure for energy storage facilities will be submitted to the National Assembly,” the minister said.

According to Khudatyan, energy storage facilities will improve the efficiency of the sector.

“Energy storage facilities will allow electricity generated by solar power plants to be supplied on a fixed schedule, which will further support the Armenian economy. We are trying to promote the rapid development of the sector through legislative regulations,” he concluded.