Temporary manager reports ENA procurement savings

PanARMENIAN.Net - The temporary manager of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), Romanos Petrosyan, said the company had inventory worth 7–8 billion drams that had been purchased but was unsuitable for the utility's operational needs.

According to Petrosyan, deliveries worth 12 billion drams are expected over the next two to three months, increasing the total value of inventory in ENA's warehouses to more than 40 billion drams, Factor.am reported.

Commenting on previous procurement practices, he said that of the roughly 27 billion drams in warehouse inventory recorded during the same period last year, goods worth 7–8 billion drams were what he described as "dead stock."

"They had been purchased years ago at inflated prices. We have evidence and documentation that have led to official reports and the initiation of criminal proceedings," he said.

Asked whether the purchases involved equipment unsuitable for ENA's needs, Petrosyan said the cases varied.

"Some items were unnecessary from the outset. These include outdated equipment that is no longer used, as well as transformers purchased at prices three to four times above market value. They had never been put into operation and remained in the warehouse of the supplier, a company within the Tashir Group. Proper inventory records were also not maintained," he said.

Petrosyan added that inspections also uncovered scrap metal worth several hundred million drams, along with hundreds of vehicles and machines that had either reached the end of their service life or were no longer fit for use. After being inventoried, the assets were either returned to suppliers, sold at market value, written off or repurposed for the company's operational needs, so they would no longer remain on the balance sheet as usable assets.

Petrosyan said large-scale investment projects remain underway. He noted that ENA has submitted an investment programme worth about 46.7 billion drams for 2026 to the Public Services Regulatory Commission for approval.

The programme includes the reconstruction of about 500 km of overhead power lines and nearly 100 km of underground cable lines, the construction of 27 new distribution substations and several high-voltage substations, as well as extensive grid modernization and the installation of new electrical equipment.

"More than 18 billion drams worth of investment work has already been completed. Overhead and underground lines have been reconstructed, while inventory held at ENA's central and regional warehouses is valued at about 27 billion drams. Equipment worth around 15 billion drams has already been purchased, with part of it delivered and the remainder either in transit or undergoing customs clearance," Petrosyan said.

He added that since his appointment as temporary manager, all procurement has been conducted through open and competitive procedures in accordance with public procurement legislation.

"As a result, we have achieved savings of up to 40–50% compared with the budgets originally предусмотренные in the procurement plan," he said.