Armenian Prime Minister briefed on violations in Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) that led to the company's license being revoked
YEREVAN, November 25. /ARКА/. Romanos Petrosyan, the interim manager of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENE) CJSC, presented to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan six key violations uncovered by administrative proceedings. These violations were included in the decision of the Public Services Regulatory Commission of the Republic (PSRC) to revoke ENA's license for electricity (capacity) distribution.
According to Petrosyan, ENA has recorded numerous cases of underreporting electricity generation figures from autonomous solar power plants.
"There was also a large number of falsifications involving millions of kWh in state and community companies, which led to the underreporting of system losses, the charging of additional fees to subscribers, illegal electricity transactions, and hidden monetization. More than 10 criminal cases have been opened based on these violations, and arrests have been made in recent days," he stated.
He also reported that the entire electricity meter database from 2018 to November 2024 had been deleted.
"This was concealed from both law enforcement agencies and the Public Services Regulatory Commission, which is a serious violation," the interim manager stated, describing the situation as "a large-scale crisis in the company's management system."
Petrosyan explained that the meter data of approximately 700,000 subscribers was managed externally by Russian companies, including firms affiliated with Tashir Group (the owner of ENA). Thus, approximately 40 entities had access to the system.
The interim manager briefed Pashinyan on the situation regarding credit obligations and bank guarantees. According to him, during his four months as interim manager, the principal amounts of "expensive" loans totaling more than $21 million were repaid early using certain financial savings.
“In total, ENA’s credit obligations at the time of the appointment of the interim manager amounted to $396 million, including issued bonds.
"Currently, this figure is approaching $368 million, meaning we have duly repaid loan obligations of approximately $28-30 million," Petrosyan stated.
He confirmed that over nine years, ENA management has provided, on its own behalf, bank loan guarantees worth approximately $691 million to several dozen companies affiliated with Tashir Group.
"ENA, whose assets were 100% pledged to international banks and had loan obligations to them totaling $116 million, was contractually obligated to obtain permission (from the PSRC or the government) in the event of the use of any guarantees, collateral, or other loan funds," he emphasized.
Pashinyan, for his part, suggested that if creditors (banks and international organizations) demanded repayment of the guarantees issued by the ENA, there would be a risk of a collapse in the country's energy system. According to the prime minister, administrative proceedings were initiated against the ENA to prevent such developments, prompting accusations of inaction by regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies. Petrosyan agreed with this assumption.-0-
