NERC Dismisses Kaduna Disco Board Over N456.5bn Debt

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has dissolved the board and core investor of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) due to an accumulated debt of N456.5 billion. NERC reported that KAEDCO's market liabilities exceeded N450 billion, with Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses over 71 percent.

An interim management team has been appointed for six months, and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has been tasked with finding a new core investor. Industry experts, including Mr. Odion Omonfoman, criticized this action as merely addressing symptoms rather than the underlying issues, such as governance gaps at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the role of lenders.

Omonfoman raised concerns about the delay in regulatory intervention and questioned the effectiveness of banks managing utility companies, emphasizing that banks are not operators. He also expressed skepticism about Afreximbank's ability to secure a new investor capable of absorbing the substantial debt while injecting new capital.