Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade hydroelectric complex
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)””A state-owned Russian company, RusHydro, has reaffirmed its intention to sell off Armenia’s second most important hydroelectric complex belonging to it.
The sale of the Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade would further reduce the presence of Kremlin-controlled companies in the Armenian energy sector heavily dependent on Russian gas and nuclear fuel.
The Soviet-era facility consists of seven hydroelectric plants built along the Hrazdan river flowing through central Armenia. It accounts for roughly 10 percent of Armenian electricity output.
The Armenian government handed over ownership of the Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade to Russia in 2003 in payment for the Metsamor nuclear plant’s massive debts Russian nuclear fuel suppliers. RusHydro acquired it from another state-run Russian firm in 2011. Russian media reported in 2015 that the energy giant, which operates most of Russia’s hydroelectric plants, is now prepared to sell its Armenian subsidiary.
The TASS news agency quoted RusHydro’s chief executive, Nikolay Shulginov, as saying on Thursday that his company has been negotiating with potential buyers. “One of them emerged but then vanished,”
