The Government of Armenia has decided the fate of the strategically important company “Electrical Networks of Armenia” (HETC), it will become the property of the state and will be transferred to trusteeship.
Prime Minister during the executive session on August 6 Nikol Pashinyan officially announced the nationalization of the company and then the transfer to concession management, but did not specify to whom or to which structure it will be entrusted.
The process of nationalization started last year, when the state terminated the license of the HEP and appointed a temporary manager.
Recently, the government recognized the company as an overriding public interest in a short public hearing lasting only 14 minutes. The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure justifies this with the imperative to protect the public interest, while the company’s former management has stated that it will continue to challenge this process.
The process of nationalization of HEP began after the owner of the company, a Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan defended the church and Catholicos Karekin II in the most acute moment of the conflict with the political authorities.
After that, Karapetyan was arrested on charges of calling for usurpation of power, and in November 2025, the Public Services Regulatory Commission deprived the company of its electricity distribution license.
Falsification of electricity indicators, underperformance of investment projects and provision of risky loans were cited as the basis.
Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that the company served narrow interests for a long time and was burdened with loans, so nationalization will not become an additional burden for the state budget. The process is also accompanied by the criminal case initiated against the head of “Tashir” group, businessman Samvel Karapetyan. he is currently under house arrest.
In the international legal arena, the state has also strengthened its position: in June 2026, the Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal satisfied the RA government’s petition regarding the nationalization of the HEC, rejecting the complaints of the former owners.
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