“Electrical Networks of Armenia” recalled the catastrophic state of the system before its acquisition by the “Tashir Group”

YEREVAN, June 30. /ARKA/. Acting General Director of “Electrical Networks of Armenia” CJSC David Gazinyan recalled the catastrophic state of the system before its acquisition in 2015 by the “Tashir Group” represented by Samvel Karapetyan.

"In 2015, ENA CJSC was acquired by “Tashir Group” represented by Samvel Karapetyan. In 2015, the company was in a very bad state. Probably, our mistake was that this situation was not presented in detail. Then, an investment program was developed, international partners were attracted and work was carried out to improve the situation, bringing it to an international level," he said at a press conference.

Gazinyan recalled that since 2015, KPMG has been conducting annual audits of the ENA, tax audits in 2018-2022 were completed with zero acts, the Public Services Regulatory Commission organized a competition for a technical audit of procurement and investment programs, which was conducted by Grant Thornton (international audit) and BDO Armenia (business consulting).

"All these companies gave positive opinions about us... It is ridiculous to think that we could influence their conclusions," Gazinyan emphasized.

He recalled that the ENA is guided in its activities by decisions and criteria established by the state regulator - the PSRC. The head of the company noted that the PSRC assessments never contained even a hint that there could be a threat of depriving the ENA of its license or imposing other sanctions.

Ghazinyan presented several indicators of ENA's work for 2023 (the last reporting year, data for 2024 has not yet been presented) - thus, the number of power outages has improved by 87%, the average duration of power outages is 18.1%, the period for resuming electricity supply has increased by 12.8 times.

About the ENA nationalization project

Recently, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the readiness of the ENA nationalization plan, claiming that the process will be carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.

According to him, there are known problems in the energy sector of Armenia, including those related to quality. He intends to implement the processes of nationalization of ENA, transferring the company under state management quickly and efficiently.

About ENA

CJSC "Electric Networks of Armenia" is part of the "Tashir" group of companies, which is owned by entrepreneur and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan. ENA manages medium and low voltage distribution networks in Armenia, serving about 1 million subscribers.

Since 2016, Tashir Group has invested about $680 million in the modernization of Electric Networks of Armenia alone, and another $150-200 million was invested in the creation of new capacities. By 2034, it is planned to increase the total volume of ENA investments in the energy system of Armenia to 540 billion drams (almost $1.4 billion).

On the criminal prosecution of Samvel Karapetyan

The owner of Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC, philanthropist and entrepreneur Samvel Karapetyan is currently under arrest. As part of the criminal case, he is charged with "public calls for the seizure of power." By a court decision, he was arrested for 2 months. Karapetyan himself does not admit his guilt. His lawyers have filed a motion to appeal the arrest of the businessman, and are also preparing a complaint to the ECHR against Armenia.

The reason for Samvel Karapetyan's detention was the businessman's statement in connection with the conflict that arose between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Garegin II. In his address to the press, the businessman stated that he had always been on the side of the Armenian Church and the Armenian people, and if politicians do not succeed, then "we are ready to participate in all this in our own way."