ArmInfo.It is planned that the Transparency Initiative will be extended to the sphere of Armenian energy. At a meeting on January 24, the country's parliament continued discussions on amendments to the law "On Energy".
As one of the co-authors of the document, MP Artak Manukyan, noted in his speech, the presented bill is intended to resolve issues related to ensuring transparency in the energy sector and identifying the real owners of small hydropower plants, hydro and thermal power plants. At present, as the deputy recalled, within the framework of the Transparency Initiative, measures are being applied to mining enterprises, the same measures are envisaged to apply to energy facilities. Artak Manukyan noted that if emphasis is placed on the logic of transparency, accountability in relation to public resources, then hydroelectric power stations, thermal power plants and other public resources are also in this classification. "And we proposed to make transparent the information on the part of the shareholders of those who produce electricity, which includes SHPPs, TPPs," Manukyan said. He added that the publication of the real owners of energy facilities is subject to owners owning at least 10% of the shares. Meanwhile, as Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia Hakob Vardanyan emphasized in his speech, the Government of the Republic of Armenia proposed postponing the adoption of this bill for a period of 1-2 years, during which comprehensive decisions will be made. The fact is, continued Hakob Vardanyan, that currently in the field of the mining industry there are problems associated with the preparation of declarations. In this regard, it is proposed to postpone discussions until a later date until the Initiative fully works in the mining industry, after which it will be possible to extend it to other areas, including energy. "It is important to take a comprehensive, rather than fragmentary, decision on this issue," the deputy minister emphasized. It should be noted that currently there are 185 small hydropower plants in Armenia, the real owners of which little is known to the public, information about them periodically appears in the media. So, according to available data, the former deputy from the previously ruling Republican Party Hakob Hakobyan and his brother own the Yeghegis 1 hydroelectric power station. A member of the Prosperous Armenia faction, Vardevan Grigoryan, also has a hydroelectric power station. Regarding the three hydropower plants operating in the Hermon community, it is known that they are the property of the head of the Vayots Dzor Diocese, Bishop Abram Mkrtchyan, it is simply registered in the name of his brother and colleague. The owner of the hydroelectric power station is also the son of General Hovik Ohanyan - David Ohanyan. 50% of the Mina-Maya company, which operates two hydroelectric power stations on the Yeghegis River, belongs to the son of the brother of ex-president Serzh Sargsyan - Narek Sargsyan. The son of the former Prosecutor General and former chairman of the Investigative Committee, Aghvan Hovsepyan, Narek Hovsepyan also has a hydroelectric power station - he owns a stake in the Surb Hakhbyur hydroelectric power station. The former Minister of Economics Suren Karayan and his brother Hazhak Karayan, the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan Hayk Suvaryan, have shares in the Vayots Dzor hydroelectric power station. Hayk Suvaryan is also attributed to the Gokhtanik hydroelectric station. Hydropower plants have former Syunik governor Surik Khachatryan, chairman of the Free Democrats party Khachatur Kokobelyan, former governor of the Lori region Henrik Kochinyan and many other former officials. The vast majority of hydropower plants have been built over the past decade. Until 1999, their number in Armenia did not exceed two dozen. From 1999 to 2008, during the presidency of Robert Kocharian, a permit was issued for 50 hydroelectric power stations. After 2008, when Serzh Sargsyan became the head of state, about 130 hydroelectric power stations were already built. Recall that the abuses committed by small hydropower plants were in the spotlight of the prosecutor general after the velvet revolution. Prosecutor's office found out that most of the small hydropower plants operating in Armenia for many years worked with gross violations of the law, but the relevant officials of the Ministry of Nature Protection did not take measures to correct them. As a result, significant damage was caused to the legitimate interests of the state and the environment. And Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the scope of the small hydropower plant as a "giant sphere for abuse. "The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is an international standard for transparency and accountability in the extractive industries, oil and gas. Armenia has become the 52nd country that is moving towards the implementation of the Initiative standards - March 9, 2017 in Colombian Bogota was approved Armenia's candidacy, after which, over the next 18 months, she will have to submit the first EITI report, which will be approved according to the standards of the international initiative. Mining Industry of Armenia The Government of the Republic of Armenia cooperates with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the World Bank (WB) and other entities. EITI is a coalition of governments, companies, civil society, investors and international organizations. It was created in 2002 at the initiative of then Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair at the conference on sustainable development in Johannesburg. The goal of the Initiative is to increase transparency and improve the quality of governance in the extractive industries through periodic publication of reports, compliance with standards and strengthening institutional capacity. As part of the Initiative, extractive companies should disclose the amount of their tax and non-tax payments to governments, and governments should publish reports on their income. The transparency of information on the amount of income achieved by EITI standards allows parliaments of countries, non-governmental organizations, as well as citizens themselves to control the activities of companies and the Government. Such civilian control will not only complicate abuse in this area, but will also contribute to more efficient development of countries as a result of improved economic conditions and more active attraction of foreign direct investment. As international experience shows, mining companies only benefit from greater transparency, thanks to the creation of equal and predictable economic relations. Today, EITI covers 52 countries that have submitted 332 fiscal reports, which brought profit to the budget of the participants of the initiative in the amount of $ 2.3 trillion.
