Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) de facto nationalized; legal registration is being prepared, says Pashinyan
YEREVAN, April 9. /ARKA/. Today, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared that the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), the national power distribution company, has effectively been nationalized, with plans to formalize this status legally in the future.
He explained that the decision to bring ENA under state control was influenced by the needs of Armenian consumers and the ongoing issues with the company's management.
"For years, we have been warning that this situation cannot persist. A decision has been reached; ENA is now under the Armenian government's control, and this will remain the case," Pashinyan stated.
The Prime Minister highlighted that the strategic aim is to legally recognize ENA as state property and subsequently assign its management to another entity.
"We plan to conduct a transparent international tender to find a professional manager. Our goal is to select the most effective and skilled manager to safeguard consumer rights, rather than exploiting them for loans and distributing those among relatives," he remarked.
Since July 18, 2025, Romanos Petrosyan, who was appointed by the head of the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia, has been serving as the interim manager of ENA.
Regarding the revocation of ESA's license, during its meeting on November 17, 2025, the Public Services Regulatory Commission sanctioned the revocation of ENA's electricity distribution license (capacity) from ENA, which is owned by Samvel Karapetyan's Tashir Group.
The commission cited violations uncovered during a four-month investigation as the basis for this decision, including falsifications, deficiencies, and other inaccuracies in electricity meter readings, breaches in the execution of investment programs, delays and procedural violations in connecting new subscribers, as well as breaches of construction and fire safety regulations during the construction and renovation of specific facilities.
The commission also asserts that ENA provided risky credit guarantees through commercial companies. banks and a number of affiliated companies; ineffectively managed property, real estate, and cash.
Representatives of the ENA disagree with the presented findings, questioning the accuracy of the sample and the results of the studies conducted by the PSRC, as well as the quality of the audits and assessments. The owner of the ESA, Tashir Capital (part of the Tashir Group), attempted to challenge the PSRC's decision to revoke the ENA's license in court, but the claim was dismissed. -0-
