Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan has emphasised that currently, ‘there is no question of the nationalisation’ of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), noting that only the management of the ENA was changed.
Khachaturyan offered his remarks in an interview with the Russian media outlet RTVI.
The ENA is run by Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan’s Tashir Group. Karapetyan was detained in late June on charges of calls for usurpation of power in Armenia after defending the Armenian Apostolic Church amidst a quarrel between the church and the government.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
‘Now only the management has changed there, it’s now under external management, as is customary in Russia nowadays. Now this is generally very customary, many enterprises, private enterprises, private organisations are currently under external state management — it's a normal [situation]’, Khachaturyan told RTVI.
Khachaturyan also said that the ENA had a monopoly right to distribute electricity in the country, but that the company did not observe state procurement laws, which it had an obligation to do so.
Previously, Pashinyan pledged to ‘swiftly’ nationalise the ENA
In July, shortly after Karapetyan’s detention, the Armenian authorities adopted legislation that virtually allowed it to nationalise the ENA, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan citing public discontent with the company’s services and frequent power outages in Armenia as a reason for the move.
Pashinyan also alleged that frequent power outages were intentionally used ‘to generate internal public discontent in Armenia’ and pledged to ‘swiftly’ nationalise the ENA.
Following the adoption of the law, on 18 July, the Chair of the Public Services Regulatory Commission, Mesrop Mesropyan, appointed Romanos Petrosyan as temporary manager of the ENA. Petrosyan is a prominent member of the ruling Civil Contract party’s board and has held other positions in Pashinyan’s government.
‘At this stage, we — the state — must take over the management of the ENA, and we will take over the management of the ENA’, Pashinyan announced during a press conference the day before Petrosyan’s appointment.
Pashinyan also did not rule out that the ENA’s management could be outsourced.
Following these developments, Karapetyan’s family launched an arbitration case against Armenia on 11 August over the ‘expropriation’ of the ENA, seeking $500 million in compensation for existing and expected damages as a result of the government’s actions.
In response, the Armenian government adopted a decision to allocate $3.25 million to US law firm Arnold & Porter to represent Armenia at the Stockholm Arbitration Court in its legal battle against Karapetyan.
Weeks later, the Armenian government changed the law firm, citing ‘conflict of interest’. RFE/RL reported that the new firm, Foley Hoag, previously represented Armenia in some of its lawsuits against Azerbaijan brought before the International Court of Justice.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
