The head of Public Services Regulatory Commission, Robert Nazaryan, said at today's session of the parliament that he welcomes sale of the Vorotan Cascade power plant to an American company.
He hopes that this deal will introduce new culture of management in the energy sector of the country.
On 29 January 2014 ContourGlobal and the Government of Armenia announced today that they have signed an agreement for ContourGlobal to purchase and modernize the Vorotan Hydro Cascade, a series of three hydroelectric power plants totaling 405 MW on the Vorotan River in southern Armenia, for a purchase price of $180 million USD. The cascade is one of the largest and most flexible power generating facilities in Armenia and the Caucuses.
Under the terms of the agreement, ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade, a direct and wholly owned subsidiary of ContourGlobal, will own and operate the three hydroelectric facilities located on the Vorotan river and will supply power to the Armenian grid under a long-term power purchase agreement. ContourGlobal will also invest $70 million over the next six years in a refurbishment program to modernize the plants and improve their operational performance, safety, reliability, and efficiency. ContourGlobal expects the modernization to create 150 near-term jobs in addition to the 150 long-term technicians employed at the plants.
ContourGlobal is a New York based international power-generation company with approximately 3500 MW in operations or under construction in 17 countries and on four continents. ContourGlobal's 1650 employees manage, own and operate a portfolio of 33 power plants utilizing a wide range of fuel types and technologies including renewable energy production based upon Hydro, wind, solar and biomass, as well as an extensive fleet of conventionally powered thermal power plants. In the wider Eastern Europe area, ContourGlobal currently owns and operates approximately 1100 MW of power generation businesses in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, and Poland and eagerly anticipates adding the plants in Armenia to this portfolio.