Turn Around Kaduna DisCo In One Year, NERC Tells Interim Board

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has constituted a five-member Interim Board of Special Directors for Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc (KAEDC) with a marching order to reset the company and restore it to a sustainable growth path within 12 months.

The Commission also tasked the board with ensuring prudent use of funds, deploying its expertise to improve market performance and demonstrating measurable progress in the company’s operations.

NERC Chairman, Dr Musiliu Oseni, gave the charge while addressing members of the newly constituted board and the Interim Administrator of KAEDC.

Oseni said the Commission expected the board to deliver immediate and measurable improvements in the performance of the Distribution Company, particularly by tackling its high Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses and significant metering deficit.

“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 NERC chairman recalled that the Commission undertook a similar intervention in 2024, which led to significant improvements in KAEDC’s performance before the erstwhile investors resumed control of the company.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ayo Gbeleyi, urged KAEDC to take advantage of available government metering programmes to bridge its metering gap across its franchise area.

NERC Commissioner for Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, said members of the Special Board were selected based on their diverse professional expertise and relevant skills needed to reposition the company.

The board’s Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Garba, pledged to work closely with NERC and BPE to resolve outstanding issues, strengthen KAEDC’s operational and financial performance, and ultimately make the DisCo viable, saleable and a model for improved performance in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

NERC had, through Order No. NERC/2026/08, dissolved KAEDC’s Board of Directors following repeated failures to meet market obligations and other prescribed performance indicators.

The Commission subsequently appointed the five-member Interim Board of Special Directors, chaired by Garba, for an initial one-year term.

It also appointed Abubakar Umar Hashidu as Interim Administrator for an initial six-month period to drive the reset of the DisCo.