The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has transferred the regulatory oversight of Abia State electricity market to the state-owned electricity authority – Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority (ASERA).
The commission disclosed the transfer in a statement on NERC’s official X (formerly Twitter) page on Wednesday.
The latest action of the NERC is in compliance with the Electricity Act (EA), which requires any state that intends to manage and regulate its own electricity markets to formally notify NERC and request a transfer of regulatory authority over electricity operations in the state to the State Regulator.
The commission stated: “In compliance with the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) and the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (“NERC” or the “Commission” has issued an order to transfer regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Abia State from the Commission to the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority (ASERA).”
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The statement indicated that the Abia State Government had complied with the conditions precedent in the EA, duly notified NERC, and requested the transfer of regulatory oversight of the intrastate electricity market in Abia State.
A key provision of the NERC order requires the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to incorporate a subsidiary (EEDC SubCo) to assume responsibilities for intrastate supply and distribution of electricity in Abia State from EEDC.
In addition, the order also mandated the EEDC to complete the incorporation of EEDC SubCo within 60 days from 25th June 2025.
Subsequently, the EEDC SubCo shall apply for and obtain a licence for the intrastate supply and distribution of electricity from ASERA, among other directives.
The NERC directed that all transfers envisaged by the order shall be completed by December 24, 2025.
It would be recalled that in compliance with the EA, the commission had last year transferred regulatory oversight of the electricity market to state-level regulatory bodies in several states.
These include the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC), Ekiti State Electricity Regulatory Bureau (EERB), Ondo State Electricity Regulatory Bureau (OSERB), the Ogun State Electricity Regulatory Commission (OGERC), and the Plateau State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC).
Similarly, this year it also transferred regulatory oversight for the electricity market in Niger State to the Niger State Electricity Regulatory Commission (NSERC), even as the same authority had been given to Kogi State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) regulate the electricity market of Kogi’s electricity market.
The devolution of electricity regulatory powers to state-owned electricity commission will facilitate quicker responses to issues affecting electricity generation, distribution, and supply within the sub-national governments’ domains.
