Precious Anga
Lagos — The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has dissolved the board of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company over worsening financial and operational problems, including ₦456.5bn in market obligations as of May 2026.
NERC, in an order dated August 10, 2026, also appointed a six-month interim management team to oversee the company while arrangements are made for a new ownership structure.
The regulator said the intervention was necessary because of persistent payment defaults, weak governance and the failure of the DisCo to meet key operational and investment obligations under the Electricity Act.
According to NERC, KAEDC owes ₦415.5bn to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and another ₦41bn to the Nigerian Independent System Operator. Its other non-market liabilities stood at ₦14.26bn.
The financial deterioration has accelerated under ASI Engineering Ltd, which assumed operational control of the DisCo in June 2024. NERC said ₦118.6bn of the market debt accumulated within less than two years of the investor taking control.
The company’s 2025 performance further exposed the depth of the crisis. NERC said KAEDC paid only 41.93 per cent of its adjusted market invoices during the year, leaving a market shortfall of ₦46.71bn.
Its operational losses were equally severe, with Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection losses reaching 71.88 per cent. Only 28.2 per cent of electricity received by the DisCo was successfully billed to customers.
Metering also remained a major weakness, with coverage ranging between 33.26 per cent and 35.54 per cent despite interventions by NERC and the Federal Government aimed at improving electricity distribution.
The regulator said KAEDC invested just ₦2.48bn in capital expenditure in 2025, against a minimum regulatory requirement of ₦24.51bn. This represented an execution rate of about 10 per cent.
The latest intervention marks another major setback for efforts to stabilise the Kaduna electricity franchise since the sector was privatised in 2013. The previous core investor, North West Power Limited, also faced financial and operational breaches before NERC began a licence revocation process in 2023.
ASI Engineering subsequently emerged as the new core investor, receiving conditional regulatory approval in January 2024 before taking operational control five months later. However, NERC said key takeover conditions, including payment guarantees to NBET and NISO, remained unfulfilled during its tenure.
Under the new arrangement, Dr Abubakar Hashidu will serve as Interim Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, while Dr Abdullahi Garba becomes Chairman. Engr Francis Agoha has been appointed Special Director, with Ayodeji Gbeleyi representing the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
NERC has also mandated the African Export-Import Bank to lead a transparent, market-driven process for selecting a new core investor for KAEDC within 12 months.
Before the investor-selection process is completed, the regulator has ordered a 90-day reconciliation of the DisCo’s liabilities involving its interim management, NBET, NISO, BPE and other creditors.
The interim management has been barred from taking new loans, disposing of assets, entering related-party transactions or changing senior management without prior regulatory approval. It has, however, been directed to continue electricity distribution within the company’s available technical capacity.
The Kaduna DisCo crisis highlights the difficult financial realities confronting Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies, where high losses, weak revenue collection, inadequate metering and large market debts continue to undermine the ability of operators to invest in reliable service.
For Kaduna and neighbouring communities served by the DisCo, the success of the latest intervention will ultimately be measured not by the appointment of another management team or investor, but by whether it can improve electricity supply, reduce losses, expand metering and restore financial stability to the distribution network.
