Construction of new network will require at least $10 billion – CEO of ENA on the deplorable situation with power outages

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YEREVAN, October 4 /ARKA/. The situation with power outages in Armenia is bad, at least $10 billion will be needed to build a completely new network, said Karen Harutyunyan, CEO of the ‘’Electric Networks of Armenia’’ (ENA) company.nbsp;br/pp

In particular, the situation is bad in those areas of the country where electricity consumption has increased several times compared to the 2000s. In Yerevan and the surrounding areas consumption has increased by 2, 3 times; there are areas where it has increased by 5 times, he said in an interview with the Public Television of Armenia.nbsp;/pp

He explained that the resulting overload affects both energy supply and other public services.nbsp;/pp

According to him, the company based its investments on the reconstruction of distribution networks in these areas, primarily in the capital's Kentron and Arabkir districts.nbsp;/pp “To build a completely new network throughout Armenia, according to our estimates, investments of at least $10 billion are needed. According to the current pricing policy, the cost of 1 kWh of electricity in the case of an investment of $10 billion would increase by at least 140 drams,” Harutyunyan said.nbsp;/pp

The CEO of ENA stated that until today, when implementing all of its investment programs, the company has been guided by the principle that they should not have a significant impact on tariffs.nbsp;/pp

Both in 2015 and now, the tariff margin for 1 kWh of electricity is about 12 drams. We have not had any changes in the cost of 1 kWh of electricity since then, he added.nbsp;/pp

Speaking about the work to improve the electricity supply of Yerevan, Harutyunyan noted that a program for the reconstruction of the distribution network of the small center of the capital is currently underway./pp

In the coming months, secondary networks will be created between 11 distribution points and secondary substations will be placed at distribution stations. In general, they will all be completely reconstructed. In addition, 54 substations in the small center will be reconstructed, and new ones will be built in their place according to standard typical designs, he said, expressing hope that the work in the small center of the capital will be completed by the end of next year./pp

The CEO of ENA also added that 23 substations located on the ground floors and basements of residential buildings in the center of Yerevan will be moved to courtyards to reduce noise and address safety issues./pp ‘’Electric Networks of Armenia’’ CJSC is part of the Tashir Group of Companies, which is owned by the Russian based businessman of Armenian origin Samvel Karapetyan. ENA manages the medium and low voltage distribution networks in Armenia, serving 1 million subscribers in the country. -0-/p