The Armenian Parliament has adopted legislative amendments to nationalise the country’s sole electricity company, Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), in their first reading. This follows the arrest of the company’s owner, Samvel Karapetyan, on charges of making calls to overthrow the government amidst ongoing tensions between the church and the state.
The amendments were adopted in their first reading on Tuesday afternoon, with 60 MPs voting in favour and 30 abstaining.
The state-owned news outlet Armenpress reported that the bill sought to ‘authorise preventative government intervention in the energy sector’. It noted that the current legislation allows the authorities to only address violations committed by the ENA’s administration if they had already taken place.
‘But there are no tools to prevent the risks in early stages, the ruling party legislators argued’, wrote Armenpress, adding that the amendments ‘seek to give the government the tools to intervene in emergency scenarios to prevent risks’.
According to RFE/RL, the amendments would allow the authorities to launch proceedings against the ENA should it fail to properly fulfill its obligations. During these proceedings, the authorities will be able to temporarily appoint an administrator to oversee the company.
If, during the process, the authorities decide to revoke the ENA’s license, the government would offer its owners the opportunity to forfeit their shares within three months. If the ENA is not sold during this period, the government would be able to force Karapetyan to forfeit the company in accordance with article 60 of the constitution, which allows the state to seize assets in the interest of the public.
According to RFE/RL, the bill would allow the legislation to be retroactively applied to previous violations.
The ruling Civil Contract party fast-tracked the nationalisation of the ENA following the arrest of its owner, Karapetyan, a Russian–Armenian billionaire. He was arrested on 18 June during a raid of his home in Yerevan after he had made statements in defence of the Armenian Church amidst ongoing tensions between it and the government.
Following the arrest, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan vowed to ‘swiftly’ nationalise ENA, which is run by Karapetyan’s Tashir Group, and also launched inspections into his popular Tashir Pizza chain, closing down some branches over violations.
He claimed the move was not related to statements Karapetyan had made in support of the church, but instead cited public discontent with the company’s services and frequent power outages in Armenia, which Pashinyan alleged were intentionally used ‘to generate internal public discontent in Armenia’.
On Tuesday, Pashinyan threatened to fire ENA employees ‘engaged in political intrigue’ later in July. Earlier, the authorities claimed that employees of the company ‘are being guided’ to participate in protests in support of Karapetyan. Following this statement, Pashinyan threatened to dismiss those ‘forcing’ employees to take part in the protests and promised to reward and protect those who refuse to join the demonstrations.
According to RFE/RL, Karapetyan’s family warned that if the state moves forward with nationalising the company, they would challenge the decision in international courts.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
