Former and Current Officials are the Owners of Kashatagh Hydroelectric Power Plants

Former and current officials of Armenia and Artsakh are shareholders of companies operating hydroelectric power plants (HEPPs) in Artsakh. Many of them are no longer in office today, but they began their ventures in the hydroelectric business during their tenure and continue to be HEPP owners.

In a previous article, Hetq presented the owners of small HEPPs operating in the Shahumyan region. Now we present the owners of operational HEPPs in the Kashatagh region.

The Kashatagh region houses 16 of the 31 operational HEPPs in Artsakh, with 9 more under construction. The majority of HEPPs in Artsakh are located along the 75 km long Agavno River, which flows through the northwestern part of Kashatagh. Currently, there are 9 HEPPs operational on the Agavno, with two more under construction. The first license for the operation of a HEPP in the Kashatagh region was granted in 2011.

Who are the owners of Kashatagh HEPPs?

“Energo Group” LLC

Registered in 2017, “Energo Group” LLC operates one HEPP and is constructing three more in the Kashatagh region. The sole owner of the company is “Kaytsaghbyur” LLC, which currently operates one HEPP – “Kaytsaghbyur 2”. “Kaytsaghbyur” LLC was established in August 2017.

The shareholders of this company are high-ranking officials of the Armenian Electric Networks (AEN) LLC. Lousine Ghasaboghlian, the director of Vardges Petrosyan School, holds 33.4% of the shares. She is the wife of Karen Darbinyan, the chairman of the board of directors of AEN. Another shareholder, Nelly Harutyunyan, owns 33.3% of the shares and is the wife of Karen Harutyunyan, the CEO of AEN. The remaining 33.3% belongs to Narine Amiryan, who is the wife of Andranik Khachatryan, a former Minister of Economy and other governmental roles in Artsakh. Andranik Khachatryan currently heads a private company, serving as the General Director of “Artsakhenergo” LLC, which primarily deals with electricity distribution and sales.

The director of the company, Sergey Harutyunyan, is 26 years old and is the son of Karen Harutyunyan, the CEO of Armenian Electric Networks. “Energo Group” LLC's “Kaytsaghbyur 2” HEPP is located in the Shaluva and Draxadzor communities of the Kashatagh region, on the Hojants river. It is a powerful HEPP with an installed capacity of 11.152 megawatts (MW) and an average annual generation of 55.78 million kilowatt-hours (kWh). The operating permit for the HEPP was issued in December 2019 for a 15-year term until 2034.

As we mentioned, “Energo Group” LLC is constructing three more HEPPs in the Kashatagh region: “Kaytsaghbyur 1”, “Kaytsaghbyur 3”, and “Garanikh”.

“KarHas” LLC

The permit for a HEPP with an installed capacity of 2.815 MW on the Agavno River was granted for the period from 2017 to 2031. The founder and 100% owner of the company is Karen Bakhshyan, the son of the former head of the State Revenue Committee's tax inspection in Sisian and Sevan, Nairi Bakhshyan. The company was established in September 2015.

According to publications in the “Zhoughour” newspaper, Nairi Bakhshyan is a classmate of former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, which may have contributed to his release from the position in line with his application following Abrahamyan's resignation from the premiership in 2017.

The average annual generation of “KarHas” HEPP is 19.763 million kWh.

“Imast” LLC

The former Prime Minister and the former head of the tax inspection operate another HEPP on the Agavno River through their sons. Located in the area of the Hak community, the HEPP operated by “Imast” LLC has an installed capacity of 1.864 MW. The shareholders are Argam Abrahamyan, the son of former Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan (50%), Karen Bakhshyan (25%), the son of Nairi Bakhshyan, and Gevorg Machanyan, the executive director of “Armsvisbank” (25%). Karen Bakhshyan is also the director of “Imast” LLC.

The company, registered in 2006, was founded by the former mayor of Berdzor, Arthur Sahakyan. The company received an operating permit in 2015 until 2030. The average annual production of the HEPP is 14.3 million kWh.

“Kontinent” LLC

In the territories of Msheni and Hojants communities, the permit for the operation of a HEPP called “Hojants-1” was granted for the period from 2019 to 2034. The owners of the company are Gohar Tamazyan and Sergey Zakaryan, each holding 50% of the shares. Gohar Tamazyan is the daughter of former Deputy Attorney General Aram Tamazyan and is married to the son of businessman Isaac Seyranian. The “Hojants-1” HEPP is situated on the corresponding river in the Kashatagh region, with an installed capacity of 5.76 MW and an average annual output of 43.46 million kWh.

More details can be found here.