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ARMENIA FINES RUSSIAN-OWNED ELECTRICITY FIRM, OVER PRICE HIKE THAT SPARKED MASS PUBLIC PROTESTS

 

By RFE/RL's Armenian Service – August 9 - http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-armenia-electricity-/27117963.html

 

Plans to raise electricity rates by the Russian-owned electricity company sparked protests in Yerevan and elsewhere in Armenia.

The Russian owned firm that owns Armenia's electricity grid has been fined $126,000 for what state regulators in Yerevan have described as a violation of consumer rights. The July 8 ruling against Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) came after weeks of protests in Yerevan and other Armenian cities against a nearly 17 percent electricity price hike that was due to come into effect on August 1……Amid reports of widespread misappropriation and mismanagement by ENA's Russian leadership, many Armenians say they are the victims of Russian corruption and oligarchs.

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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/armenia-suspends-power-hike-bid-protests-yerevan-150627215852185.html

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/06/armenian-protesters-refuse-disperse-energy-hike-150628190738076.html

 

28 June 2015 - About 15,000 demonstrators flood streets of Yerevan over government decision to raise electricity price by 17 percent.

 

Protesters claim the Russian-controlled power grid company is riddled with corruption [AP]

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2015/6/28/020bef54d1894415a89817134cbe4ebf_18.jpg

An estimated 6,000 protesters remain on the streets even after  attempts to end the sit-in [Adrineh Gregorian/Al Jazeera]

 

http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/gk4iWAl_pgJ17af3ECsVzA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM3NztpbD1wbGFuZTtweG9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz02NzA-/http:/media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/44581a1e4bb2ef1d7a0f6a70670017c3.jpg

 

July 06, 2015 - Protesters in the impoverished former Soviet state have been demonstrating since June 19 to demand a 16-percent hike in electricity tariffs be scrapped.

In an attempt to appease the protesters, President Serzh Sarkisian last month announced that the government would temporarily "bear the burden" of the higher prices.

Sarkisian also said the increase, which had been scheduled to take effect on August 1, would be postponed while the government carried out an audit to assess whether it was really necessary.

However, the protesters have dismissed the president's concession as inadequate…….