Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced the government’s intention to nationalize the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), citing the company’s strategic importance and recent public remarks by its current owner, Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Pashinyan said the time has come to return the electricity distribution company to public ownership. “I believe the moment has come for the Electric Networks of Armenia to be nationalized. This process will take place swiftly,” he wrote.
Pashinyan’s remarks follow a statement made by Karapetyan, who is the owner of the Tashir Group, which controls ENA. “I don’t care about them or their power grid,” Karapetyan said earlier this week.
Reacting to these comments, Pashinyan said Karapetyan’s words clearly indicate that he does not view the power grid as a public trust. “From Karapetyan’s words, it is clear that he never saw the ENA as ‘his’ and that he doesn’t care about this strategically important structure, its consumers, or its employees,” the Prime Minister stated.
Highlighting the essential role of the ENA in everyday life, Pashinyan stressed that the company belongs to the people: “The real owner of the ENA is the public — since everyone is either a consumer or an employee of the network.”
He also instructed that all employees of ENA should continue their work in good faith. “After the nationalization, we will take that good faith into account,” he added.
The announcement comes after the businessman’s Yerevan residence was raided by law enforcement agencies on Tuesday.
Samvel Karapetyan left his Yerevan residence overnight accompanied by law enforcement officers, following the search.
As of Wednesday morning, no official information has been released regarding Karapetyan’s legal status.
