Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC Distribution Network Rehabilitation, Efficiency Improvement, and Augmentation Project (Armenia) Loan 3540

Evaluation Document | 05 June 2023

Armenia’s energy sector has undergone a series of reforms that have significantly improved its performance. The reforms involved the unbundling of a vertically integrated electricity subsector and the privatization of power and gas distribution networks and most generating companies. In particular, the Government of Armenia privatized the Armenian electric distribution networks in 2002 to the Electric Networks of Armenia CJSC (ENA). In 2017, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Directors approved an $80 million equivalent nonsovereign loan to ENA, as part of a larger plan to upgrade, rehabilitate, improve, and augment Armenia’s electric distribution network. 

The evaluation assessed the performance of the project towards achieving its objectives, particularly if the loan led to improvements in Armenia’s energy sector, i.e., improved energy efficiency, reliability, and distribution. This project demonstrated ADB’s active support for Armenia’s energy sector in line with Armenia’s development strategy, 2014–2025, which focused on improving energy efficiency and reliability by installing a modern electricity distribution system and upgrading existing systems to reduce technical and commercial losses.