NERC gives Kaduna DisCo interim board one year to turn around utility

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has given the newly constituted interim board of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc (KAEDC) 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 KAEDC, 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.