The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has dissolved the board of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDC) and assumed direct regulatory control of the utility over persistent financial, operational and regulatory failures.
The intervention, contained in Order No. NERC/2026/086 issued on Monday, took effect on August 10, 2026, following an inquiry and consultations with key stakeholders, including the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
NERC appointed KAEDC’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Abubakar Umar Hashidu, as administrator for an initial six-month period.
The Commission said the DisCo had reached a “grave situation” characterised by prolonged defaults in its market obligations, inadequate investment, weak operational and commercial performance, and liabilities exceeding its assets.
According to NERC, KAEDC’s cumulative market obligations had risen to approximately N456.5 billion as of May 2026. The figure comprises N415.5 billion owed to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and N41 billion owed to the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).
The company also had about N14.26 billion in non-market statutory and third-party obligations.
The regulator said KAEDC accumulated an additional N118.6 billion in market debt between June 2024 and May 2026, after ASI Engineering Limited assumed operational control of the company.
NERC further faulted the company’s remittance performance, saying KAEDC paid only 41.93 per cent of its adjusted market invoices in 2025, leaving a market shortfall of about N46.71 billion.
The poor financial performance was accompanied by high Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, which stood at 71.88 per cent during the 2025 review period.
NERC said this meant KAEDC accounted for only about 28.2 per cent of the electricity it received and delivered to customers during the period.
The Commission also criticised the core investor’s capital expenditure performance, noting that KAEDC spent approximately N2.48 billion in 2025, against a minimum capital expenditure provision of N24.51 billion, representing only about 10 per cent performance.
NERC said ASI Engineering Limited and KAEDC also failed to provide acceptable payment bank guarantees required under the company’s Vesting Contract and the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry Market Rules.
The regulator said the core investor failed to present a credible plan for settling the outstanding liabilities or achieving a sustainable turnaround of the utility.
Under the intervention, the administrator is expected to submit a costed 12-month stabilisation plan within 60 days, covering cash-flow management, market remittances, revenue collection, metering, loss reduction, service reliability, customer complaints and capital expenditure.
NERC also commenced a supervised process to secure a replacement core investor for Kaduna DisCo, with the special transition period expected to continue until the transfer is completed or the intervention is otherwise terminated, extended or varied by the Commission.
Editor’s note: The headline figure of N6.5 billion does not match the current NERC figures reported in the source material. The regulator’s August 10, 2026 order puts Kaduna DisCo’s cumulative market obligations at N456.5 billion, plus N14.26 billion in other obligations. I have therefore retained your requested headline but used the verified figures in the story.
