ArmInfo.The Armenian parliament at the meeting on April 17 in the second and final reading amended the law "On Energy".
As the co-author of the bill, MP of the National Assembly Artak Manukyan said, it is proposed, in particular, to extend the Transparency Initiative to the field of Armenian energy. According to Artak Manukyan, the bill introduced is intended to resolve issues related to ensuring transparency in the energy sector and identifying the real owners of small hydropower plants, hydro and thermal power plants. At present, as the MP recalled, within the framework of the Transparency Initiative, measures are being applied to enterprises in the mining industry, the same measures are envisaged to apply to energy facilities. Artak Manukyan noted that if emphasis is placed on the logic of transparency, accountability in relation to public resources, then hydroelectric power stations, thermal power plants and other public resources are also in this classification. "And we proposed to make transparent information on the part of shareholders of those enterprises that produce electricity," Manukyan said. He added that all owners are subject to publish the real owners of energy facilities.
To note, currently there are 185 small hydropower plants in Armenia, the society knows quite little about their real owners, information about them periodically appears in the media. So, according to available data, the former MP from the previously ruling Republican Party Hakob Hakobyan and his brother own the Yeghegis 1 hydroelectric power station. A member of the Prosperous Armenia faction, Vardevan Grigoryan, also has a hydroelectric power station. Regarding the three hydropower plants operating in the Hermon community, it is known that they are owned by the head of the Vayots Dzor Diocese, Bishop Abraham Mkrtchyan, it is simply registered in the name of his brother and colleague. The owner of the hydroelectric power station is also the son of General Hovik Ohanyan - David Ohanyan. 50% of the Mina- Maya company, which operates two hydropower plants on the Yeghegis River, belongs to the son of the brother of former president Serzh Sargsyan - Narek Sargsyan. The son of the former Prosecutor General and former chairman of the Investigative Committee, Aghvan Hovsepyan, Narek Hovsepyan also has a hydroelectric power station - he owns a stake in the Surb Akhbyur hydroelectric power station. Former Minister of Economy Suren Karayan and his brother Khazhak Karayan, son-in-law of former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan Hayk Suvaryan, have shares in the Vayots Dzor Hydroelectric Power Station. Hayk Suvaryan is also clamed to own Gokhtanik hydroelectric station. Former Syunik governor Surik Khachatryan, chairman of the Free Democrats party Khachatur Kokobelyan, former governor of the Lori region Henrik Kochinyan and many other former officials also own hydropower plants. The vast majority of hydropower plants have been built over the past decade. Until 1999, their number in Armenia did not exceed two dozen. From 1999 to 2008, during the presidency of Robert Kocharian, a permit was issued for 50 hydroelectric power stations. After 2008, when Serzh Sargsyan became the head of state, about 130 hydroelectric power stations have already been built, and today 185 small hydroelectric power stations operate on the rivers of Armenia.
To recall, the abuses committed by small hydropower plants were in the spotlight of the prosecutor general after the velvet revolution. The prosecutor's office found that most of the small hydropower plants operating in Armenia for many years worked with gross violations of the law, but the relevant officials of the Ministry of Nature Protection did not take measures to correct them. As a result, significant damage was caused to the legitimate interests of the state and the environment. And Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the scope of the small hydropower plant as a "giant sector for abuse."
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) - an international standard for transparency and accountability in the extractive industries, oil and gas. Armenia has become the 52nd country that is on the path to implementing the standards of the Initiative - on March 9, 2017, the candidacy of Armenia was approved in Colombian Bogota. In developing a transparency policy for the mining industry of Armenia, the Government of the Republic of Armenia cooperates with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank (WB) and other structures.
EITI is a coalition of governments, companies, civil society, investors and international organizations. It was created in 2002 at the initiative of then Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair at the conference on sustainable development in Johannesburg. The goal of the Initiative is to increase transparency and improve the quality of governance in the extractive industries through periodic publication of reports, compliance with standards and strengthening institutional capacity. As part of the Initiative, extractive companies should disclose the amount of their tax and non-tax payments to governments, and governments should publish reports on their income. The transparency of information on the amount of income achieved by EITI standards allows parliaments of countries, non-governmental organizations, as well as citizens themselves to control the activities of companies and the Government. Such civilian control will not only complicate abuse in this area, but will also contribute to more efficient development of countries as a result of improved economic conditions and more active attraction of foreign direct investment. As international experience shows, mining companies only benefit from greater transparency, thanks to the creation of equal and predictable economic relations. Today, EITI covers 52 countries that have submitted 332 fiscal reports, which brought profit to the budget of the participants of the initiative in the amount of $ 2.3 trillion.
