YEREVAN. – The World Bank (WB) will help Armenia develop a model for forecasting the country’s poverty level as a result of a change in the utilities’ fees.

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Artem Asatryan, told the abovementioned at Thursday’s briefing with reporters at the government. He stated this in response to Armenian News-NEWS.am’s query on a possible chain increase in the prices of first necessity goods, once the decision on the electricity price hike takes effect.

“Our task is to develop a method so that we will not wait 1.5 years for the results of household surveys, but rather estimate in advance,” explained the minister.

In his words, the government reaction to the increase in the price of electricity can be considered well-timed and having a social dimension.

Despite numerous protests, the Public Services Regulatory Commission recently increased the price of electricity in Armenia, and this decision will take effect on August 1. The decision, however, is expected to be followed by an increase in the prices of numerous products and services in the country.