Investments for Armenian Electric Networks re-equipment in 2024-2034 will be over 305 billion drams, says CEO

 
Karen Harutyunyan, General Manager of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), gave an exclusive interview to Alpha News in which he addressed complaints about power outages, presented the reasons for the interruptions, and talked about the progress of the company’s investment projects aimed at re-equipping the distribution network.

According to Karen Harutyunyan, the frequent power outages in Yerevan in the summer were caused by several factors, and in some cases, the interruptions were not within the ENA responsibility.

“The reasons were subjective and objective. The first is the wear and tear of the distribution network. Tashir group of companies purchased the network when it was damaged for more than 80%. The main task of ENA is to replace the equipment, but it is not possible to modernize the country’s entire system at once, and for now we are doing it at the most vulnerable points.

The second reason is that the distribution network, in terms of power supply to the population, was originally designed and built on the principle of radial, without backup power supply, as a result of which the interruption of a section of the circuit leads to a blackout of the entire circuit.

The third reason is the unprecedented volume of construction and electricity consumption in Yerevan, especially in Kentron and Arabkir administrative districts. The number of subscribers in Yerevan has increased by 68,000, of which 40,000 have already been connected to the network.

The fourth reason is the bad condition of other electric facilities, which led to power outages, for example, in the government building, the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, during a football match in Abovyan, as well as the fire at the electric substation of the Yerevan Hydroelectric Power Station. Nevertheless, in all the mentioned cases, we help those structures to put their electricity economy in order,” Karen Harutyunyan said.

Along with the power outages, there were complaints about not connecting to the 1-80 call center. It is not possible to contact the operator because during power outages there are many calls and it is not possible to service them all at the same time. Instead, ENA offers subscribers to call 1-80, press button 2, and dial the number of their subscription card or the phone number attached to the contract to get the necessary information. 

The subscriber can also leave a voice message by calling 1-80, followed by a call back, to receive information regarding power outages. Subscribers can also create a personal account on the ENA website and receive information about the documents related to them as a subscriber.

If Electric Networks of Armenia does not resolve the problem within the specified period, it will compensate the subscriber. In the case of urban communities, the company must resolve the problem within 4 hours, and in the case of rural areas, within 8 hours.

“Those fines are calculated as payments by the subscriber to the company. This means that the obligation that the customer has to pay for the purchased electricity is reduced. During this year, ENA compensated the subscribers in the amount of more than 170 million drams. This is a large number, which also includes the costs of accidents caused by the activities of other companies. Currently, mechanisms are being discussed, according to which if there was a power outage caused by another company, which failed to resolve the problem in time, the company that caused the damage will be held responsible,” Karen Harutyunyan said.

The General Manager also presented the investment program for the 2016-2024 period, which is aimed at re-equipment of the distribution network. During those 8 years, more than 270 billion drams were allocated to the modernization of the ENA economy.

As part of the project, the company also invests in a smart meter system. As of today, ENA has installed 650,000 smart meters. Subscribers connected to the system can monitor meter readings online.

ENA is also implementing the reconstruction of Yerevan’s distribution network. In particular, the power supply network of the Small Center will be modernized.

“This program has already been approved, its implementation will begin in the coming days. The volume of investments is about 6.1 billion drams. It is expected to have a modern distribution system, which I hope will not require major repairs for many years. This program will be continuous. The next step will be to modernize the power supply network of Mets Kentron and Arabkir.

It will take about 2 to 3 years to implement this if there are no problems with building permits and land allocations,” Karen Harutyunyan said.

The Public Services Regulatory Commission has also approved the ENA investment program for the next ten years, 2024-2034, the cost of which is more than 305 billion drams. This sum will be directed to the re-equipment and modernization of networks, the connection of new consumers to the network, the introduction of a commercial accounting system, and smart meters. According to the CEO, the company’s investment programs were designed in a way to avoid a significant impact on the electricity tariff.