The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has taken control of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDC), dissolving its board and appointing Managing Director Abubakar Umar Hashidu as administrator for an initial six months.
The decision, which took effect on August 10, followed concerns over the company’s growing debts, weak financial performance, high electricity losses and poor investment in its network.
NERC said KAEDC’s outstanding market liabilities had risen to about N456.5 billion by May 2026. Of the amount, N415.5 billion was owed to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), while another N41 billion was due to the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).
The DisCo also had about N14.26 billion in other statutory and third-party obligations.
According to the regulator, the company’s financial position deteriorated further after ASI Engineering Limited assumed control of its operations in June 2024. Since then, KAEDC reportedly accumulated an additional N118.6 billion in market-related debt.
NERC said the company and its core investor failed to provide the payment guarantees required under electricity market agreements and were unable to present a convincing plan for settling the outstanding debts.
The regulator also raised concerns about KAEDC’s ability to collect revenue and meet its market obligations.
In 2025, the DisCo reportedly remitted only 41.93 per cent of its adjusted market invoices, resulting in a shortfall of about N46.71 billion.
High technical and commercial losses were identified as a major contributor to the poor performance. KAEDC recorded an Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection loss rate of 71.88 per cent during the 2025 review period, meaning it accounted for only about 28.2 per cent of the electricity supplied to its customers.
NERC also criticised the company’s spending on infrastructure. KAEDC invested approximately N2.48 billion in capital expenditure in 2025, against a minimum requirement of N24.51 billion.
The regulator said the amount represented only about 10 per cent of the expected investment.
Metering remains another major challenge for the DisCo. NERC said the proportion of customers with meters remained between 33.26 per cent and 35.54 per cent since ASI took over the company, despite measures introduced to encourage increased deployment.
The Commission said ASI had also failed to meet several conditions attached to its proposed acquisition of a 60 per cent stake in KAEDC.
Those conditions included demonstrating technical capacity, providing a credible turnaround strategy, reducing electricity losses, strengthening management and securing payment guarantees for market obligations.
As part of the intervention, NERC removed the existing directors of KAEDC and established an interim board headed by Abdullahi Garba.
Other members include Francis U. Agoha, Aliyu E. Aliyu, retired Major General Henry E. Ayamasaowei, Haliru Dikko and Ayodeji A. Gbeleji, who represents the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
Hashidu has also been appointed to the interim board while serving as administrator.
His responsibilities include managing the company’s daily operations, protecting its assets and records, carrying out directives from NERC and implementing decisions of the interim board.
NERC has further withdrawn the Key Yardstick Licence approvals previously granted to members of KAEDC’s management and ordered affected personnel to undergo revalidation.
The regulator has also placed restrictions on major corporate and financial decisions during the intervention. These include borrowing, disposal of significant assets, related-party dealings, changes in senior management pay, appointment or removal of senior executives and adjustments to the company’s capital structure.
The new administrator has been given 60 days to submit a 12-month stabilisation programme to NERC. The plan is expected to address revenue collection, market payments, metering, electricity losses, service reliability, capital spending, procurement, staff obligations and outstanding liabilities.
NERC said the intervention will remain in place until a replacement core investor approved by the Commission takes over, or until the regulator decides to end, extend or modify the arrangement.
