Electric Networks of Armenia detects violations among autonomous solar energy producers, preliminary damage estimated at around 2 billion drams
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Studies conducted at the initiative of Electric Networks of Armenia among around three dozen autonomous solar energy producers have identified apparent violations involving 16 of them, Romanos Petrosyan wrote on his Facebook page.
According to him, inspections carried out by Electric Networks of Armenia found that the actual capacities of some consumers operating as autonomous energy producers with installed capacities ranging from 150 kV to 500 kV did not correspond to their installed capacities, exceeding the permitted limit by three to four times.
“Thus, a number of autonomous energy producers operating since 2022 have violated the requirements of the technical regulations, as well as the electricity supply licensing mechanism, negatively affecting the quality of the electricity supplied, causing dissatisfaction among consumers and inflicting significant damage on the company,” Petrosyan wrote.
He said that, based on the circumstances identified, relevant letters had been sent to the Public Services Regulatory Commission, as well as the Urban Development, Technical and Fire Safety Inspectorate.
“Once the results of the studies have been summarised, the documents will be forwarded to law enforcement bodies for a criminal-law assessment of the apparent violations committed by the relevant bodies or individuals,” Petrosyan said.
According to him, preliminary calculations indicate that the apparent financial damage caused to the legitimate interests of Electric Networks of Armenia by the activities of several dozen autonomous energy producers amounts to around 2 billion drams.
Petrosyan also said that around 59,000 solar power plants are currently connected to the Electric Networks of Armenia distribution network, with a total capacity of around 1,288 MW. Of these, around 58,700 are autonomous solar energy producers with a total capacity of 750 MW, while the remainder are solar power plants for production purposes with a total capacity of 539 MW.
“Such an increase in the number of solar power plants creates additional technical problems in the distribution network, placing a strain on substations and other infrastructure,” Petrosyan said, adding that upgrading Electric Networks of Armenia’s infrastructure is an urgent issue for the safe and efficient operation of solar power plants in Armenia.