Arpine Hovhannisyan, former justice minister, responded to PSRC chairman Mesrop Mesropyan’s assertion that the Karapetyan family—the owners of Electric Networks of Armenia —are obliged to continue planned investments.
Hovhannisyan said: “The entity under your commission’s remit is ENA, meaning the legal entity, the firm. You have no dealings with the owner and you cannot impose investments by saying they must invest. You lack the authority,” reports Sputnik Armenia.
She added that the commission head is “in deep confusion” and urged him to be more attentive.
Hovhannisyan also addressed Mesropyan’s claim that he personally appointed ENA’s interim manager, Romanos Petrosyan.
She pointed out that recent amendments to the laws on Energy and the Regulatory Commission contradict the Constitution.
She emphasized: “You are not an authorized body. Under the Constitution, the authorized entity is the commission.”
In early July, the National Assembly fully approved, in second reading, a package of amendments to the laws on the Regulatory Commission and Energy—widely referred to as the state‑ownership project for ENA.
Earlier, on June 18, hours before businessman Samvel Karapetyan’s arrest, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the time had come to nationalize ENA. He warned that ENA employees who ceased cooperating with the state would be dismissed. On June 24 Pashinyan stated the nationalization plan had been finalized.
Karapetyan acquired Electric Networks of Armenia in 2016 at the previous government’s request and has since invested hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars to modernize the company.
