12:44,

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 22, ARMENPRESS. The unprecedented volume of June rainfalls in Nagorno Karabakh are somewhat mitigating the energy crisis but can’t compensate for the previous reserves of the Sarsang Reservoir, the main source of electrical energy, a local official told ARMENPRESS.

“Restoring the volume of the reservoir will only be possible when Azerbaijan stops obstructing the restoration of the electrical energy supply from Armenia to Artsakh,” Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures spokesperson Tatevik Khachatryan told ARMENPRESS.

“In that case, we won’t have to use large volumes of the reservoir resources and the previous volume will be restored in about a year,” Khachatryan said, adding that the Artsakh government is trying to accumulate some water reserves in the reservoirs by rationing and savings, in order to be able to withstand next winter.

Artsakh was planning to launch an alternative energy project but authorities are unable to import the required equipment since Azerbaijan blocked Russian peacekeepers from transporting humanitarian goods.

The energy crisis could be worse than expected if the situation continues, Khachatryan warned.

Van Novikov