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Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) interim administrator Romanos Petrosyan briefed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday about the results of an internal probe conducted at the electric utility since he took over its management.
During the live broadcast meeting with the Prime Minister, Petrosyan said the investigation revealed a scheme involving falsified electricity consumption records and overcharges. Some inspectors reported inflated meter readings instead of the actual consumption, placing the burden of the overcharges on state and municipal institutions, including schools, medical centers, public utility facilities, and nighttime street lighting networks, according to Petrosyan.
“Already identified and documented overcharges amount to several million kilowatt-hours. Multiplying this by the average tariff of 50 drams results in the embezzlement of several tens of millions of drams,” Petrosyan said.
According to him, more than a dozen criminal cases have been initiated so far, and one inspector has been arrested for adding over one million drams in overcharges to the meter of a municipal non-commercial organization.
Prime Minister Pashinyan inquired about reports in the media that consumption data from 2018–2024 had allegedly disappeared at ENA. He asked whether the disappearance of these data could have been intentional, aimed at concealing them.
Petrosyan stated that such an assumption is plausible, but the problem is much deeper. He explained that ENA did not have sufficient internal departments to manage the data of 700,000 meters. System maintenance was carried out by external organizations, including Russian companies, with approximately 40 different access points to the system, which in itself created serious security risks.
“In January 2025, it was noticed that the beginning-of-year data were not being archived. This is in itself an indicator of a management crisis, and subsequently our investigations revealed a significant level of external interference with the system,” Petrosyan said.
According to Petrosyan, the regulatory body has already examined and confirmed a number of violations, while the preliminary investigation continues across several criminal cases.