The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has issued an order to transfer regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Akwa Ibom State from the Commission to the Akwa Ibom State Electricity Regulatory Commission (AKSERC).
This was in compliance with the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) and the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended).
Recall that with the EA 2023, the Commission retains the role as a central regulator with regulatory oversight on the inter-state/international generation, transmission, supply, trading and system operations.
With this development, NERC has successfully transferred electricity market regulatory oversight to 16 states, empowering the State Electricity Regulators (SERs) to take full responsibility of driving local market growth, investments and ensuring robust customer protection.
The Commission said the EA mandates any state that intends to establish and regulate intrastate electricity markets to deliver a formal notification of its processes and requests NERC to transfer regulatory authority over electricity operations in the state to the State Regulator.
Based on this, NERC said it has directed Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc (PHEDC) to incorporate a subsidiary (PHEDC SubCo) to assume responsibilities for intrastate supply and distribution of electricity in Akwa Ibom State from PHEDC.
It said the PHEDC shall complete the incorporation of PHEDC SubCo within 60 days from 18th August 2026. The subcompany shall apply for and obtain licence for the intrastate supply and distribution of electricity from AKSERC, among other directives.
NERC said all transfers envisaged by this Order shall be completed by 17th February 2027.
