During a meeting with his circle of close associates, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan specified the name of the new owner of the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) CJSC.
The Zhamanak (Time) newspaper says that the promise to audit the company has not been fulfilled so far, however, the Government of Armenia has specified the ENA's fate without any audit.
"Abrahamyan said that the ENA would have a new owner by October 2015. Samvel Karapetyan, Russian businessman of Armenian descent, will purchase the company. The Prime Minister assures that the relevant agreement has been reached with the Russian authorities at the highest level," says the newspaper.
Earlier the Armenian media outlets repeatedly reported about the sale of the ENA to Tashir Group headed by the well-known Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, however, that information has not been officially confirmed so far.
To note, on June 17 the Public Services Regulatory Commission took a decision to raise the electric power tariffs by 6.93 AMD starting from August 1. As a result, the daytime tariff for the ultimate consumers will rise from the current 41.85 AMD per 1kWh to 48.78 AMD, and the nighttime tariff will grow from 31.85 AMD to 38.78 AMD per 1 kWh (including VAT). ENA CJSC had insisted on 17 AMD rise in the tariffs because of the company's debts. This decision has sparked public protests in the country. The decision even angered the political and public organizations and the opposition forces of Armenia that blame ENA for mismanagement. The Company, in turn, does not guarantee uninterrupted power supply to the country, unless the power rate is increased by 17 AMD. On June 27, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that the Armenian Government would assume the burden of the raised tariffs until the ENA audit was over. He also said that the ENA might be nationalized. For his part, David Harutyunyan, Minister-Head of the Armenian Government Administration, said that the audit at the ENA might last for 3-6 months. ENA's total debt is about 150 bln AMD.
CJSC "Electric Networks of Armenia" was founded in May of 2002 as merger of four state regional companies ("Yerevan Electric Networks", "North Electric Networks", "South Electric Networks" and "Central Electric Networks") distributing and selling electric power. The company is mainly engaged in regulated distribution and sales of electric power. The overall spread of its grid is 36 thousand km. The company has an exclusive license for distribution of electric power within the Republic of Armenia. Power distribution is implemented at the tariffs confirmed by the Public Services Regulatory Commission of RA. The company provides services to around 985,000 customers. "ENA" CJSC is a subsidiary of JSC "RAO UES INTERNATIONAL" CJSC.