The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has given the newly constituted interim management of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc one year to overhaul the company, reduce its high electricity losses and accelerate metering as it works to restore the struggling DisCo to a sustainable path.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has given the newly constituted interim board of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc one year to overhaul the utility and return it to a sustainable growth path, with high technical and commercial losses and a large metering gap identified as immediate priorities.
The directive came as the regulator intensified its intervention in the Kaduna DisCo, following repeated failures to meet market obligations and prescribed performance benchmarks.
The NERC Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, gave the charge in a statement issued by the commission and posted on its official X handle on Tuesday while addressing members of the newly constituted Interim Board of Special Directors and the Interim Administrator of KAEDC.
The statement read, “The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has tasked the newly constituted Interim Board of Special Directors of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc with implementing immediate interventions to reset the utility company and restore it to a sustainable growth trajectory within 12 months.”
Oseni said the board was expected to begin delivering measurable improvements immediately, recalling that the commission had carried out a similar intervention in 2024 which significantly improved the DisCo’s performance before its former investors returned to control.
“We expect a lot from you, and the Administrator will bring you up to speed to ensure that you meet the target within one year. Most importantly, we want to begin to see progress immediately,” he said.
The chairman identified KAEDC’s high Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection losses and significant metering deficit as major problems that the new management must tackle urgently.
The intervention is coming at a critical time for the electricity distribution sector, where poor metering, energy theft, inadequate revenue collection and technical losses have continued to undermine the financial sustainability of DisCos and the reliability of electricity supply.
The Bureau of Public Enterprises also urged the new management to take advantage of existing metering programmes to address the gap across KAEDC’s franchise area.
The BPE Director-General, Ayo Gbeleyi, said several metering initiatives were available to the DisCo and should be deployed aggressively to improve accountability in electricity consumption and strengthen revenue collection.
The regulator’s Commissioner for Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, said the members of the special board were selected for their professional expertise and relevant skills required to undertake the turnaround.
The five-member board is chaired by Abdullahi Garba, who pledged to work closely with NERC and BPE to resolve the DisCo’s outstanding challenges.
Garba said the board would focus on improving KAEDC’s operational and financial performance and ultimately make the company viable and attractive for sale.
He said the board’s objective was not only to stabilise the utility but also to make it “a model for improved performance in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.”
The board was also tasked with ensuring the prudent and effective use of funds and deploying its collective expertise to restore the DisCo’s market performance.
The development followed NERC’s Order No. NERC/2026/08, through which the commission dissolved the previous Board of Directors of KAEDC over repeated failures to meet market obligations and other prescribed performance indicators.
NERC subsequently appointed a five-member Interim Board of Special Directors for an initial one-year period, with Garba as chairman.
The commission also appointed Abubakar Umar Hashidu as Interim Administrator for an initial six-month tenure to work with the board and drive the reset of the company.
The latest action mirrors NERC’s 2024 intervention in the DisCo, which the regulator said produced significant improvements in its performance.
The new intervention is therefore expected to build on those gains while addressing the structural weaknesses that resurfaced after the former investors resumed control.
For the new board, the immediate challenge is to translate the regulatory intervention into measurable improvements in electricity distribution, metering, revenue collection and loss reduction within the one-year mandate.
NERC said it would closely monitor the company’s performance as the board works to restore KAEDC’s financial and operational health and place it on a sustainable trajectory.
