Armenian NA OKs ENA nationalization 

ArmInfo.  With 64 votes "for" and 30 "against", the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia approved in the first reading at an extraordinary session on July 2 the draft amendments to the laws "On the Public Services Regulatory  Authority" and "On Energy" proposed by the ruling Civil Contract faction, which lay the foundation for the nationalization of Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC. 

According to the amendments, which were presented the day before by the Chairman of the NA Committee on State and Legal Affairs Vladimir Vardanyan, the Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) will have the right to initiate proceedings upon receiving signals about serious violations in the activities of companies, which must be approved by the PSRC Board. During this period, the  PSRC may change the management of the company by inviting a temporary manager with at least 5 years of experience in the energy or management sector. The temporary manager will work until the end of the investigation period, following which the energy companies will either propose an action plan to eliminate the violations or lose their licenses. In the latter case, the owners will have to sell the company's shares, with the government retaining a preferential right to purchase for 3 months. If the owner refuses to sell within 2 months, an auction to sell the shares may be scheduled administratively.

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan  announced the need for the nationalization of the power grids  immediately after the campaign against the president of the Tashir Group of Companies Samvel Karapetyan and his arrest. On June 18, the Prime Minister told journalists that the company's activities had led to an energy crisis in the country caused by frequent power outages. According to him, a month ago he instructed the responsible persons to sort out the situation around the grids. The company must either  compensate the damage caused to the population, government agencies and the private sector within a month, or be subject to urgent nationalization.

The Tashir Group of Companies, headed by Samvel Karapetyan, acquired Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC from Inter RAO in September 2015. Earlier, Samvel Karapetyan noted that since 2016, when Tashir Group of Companies acquired ownership rights to Electric Networks of Armenia, a total of about $900 million has been invested, $680  million of which was for modernization and $200 million for the  creation of new capacities. Investments were made, among other things, through credit resources of international financial  institutions, which led to the pledging of 100% of the shares of the CJSC. Electric Networks of 

Armenia CJSC is part of the Tashir Group of Companies, which is owned by entrepreneur and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan. ESA manages medium and low voltage distribution networks in Armenia, serving about 1 million subscribers.