Pashinyan announces plans to nationalize Electric Networks

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has responded to a late-night statement by businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, head of the Tashir Group which owns the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA).

Karapetyan is facing political retaliation following his support for the Armenian Apostolic Church. Law-enforcement officers conducted a raid at his Yerevan residence on Tuesday. Karapetyan was seen leaving his home accompanied by officers last night.

“He says, 'I don’t care about them or their power grid,'" Pashinyan wrote on Facebook. “In other words, these people have never truly considered the Electric Networks of Armenia as theirs and they openly show disregard for this strategic infrastructure, its consumers and employees.”

“If the ENA doesn’t belong to them, then who does it belong to?” hecontinued. “To its consumers and its workers – meaning, to the people. Because nearly every citizen of Armenia is either a consumer of electricity or works in the energy sector.”

Pashinyan announced his government’s intention to nationalize the Electric Networks of Armenia.

“I believe the time has come for the ENA to be nationalized,” he stated. “This process will move forward swiftly. I am instructing all employees of the ENA to continue performing their duties in good faith. After the nationalization, we will take the good faith into account.”