Abia Assumes Full Regulatory Control of Electricity Market

Boniface Okoro in Umuahia

The Abia State Government has taken over full regulatory control of the electricity market in the state as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) transferred the final regulatory authority order to the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority (ASERA) on December 24, 2025.

This transfer marks a significant milestone, allowing ASERA to regulate and oversee all electricity sector activities within Abia State, including generation, transmission, distribution, and trading.

ASERA’s Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Emeka Onyegbule, stated in Umuahia, while addressing newsmen, that this development will bring competition and efficiency to the electricity market, attracting investments and ensuring fair treatment for consumers.

The authority aims to create a reliable electricity supply for every Abian, with a focus on quality service delivery and customer satisfaction.

From the date of this transfer, ASERA, being the statutory regulator for all electricity sector activities within Abia State, has effectively taken over the regulation and oversight functions of all activities within the electricity sector of the state.

Onyegbule said, Wednesday afternoon, that the final Transfer Order was issued following the expiration of the interim Transfer Order No: NERC/2025/058 dated June 24, 2025, formally transferring regulatory oversight of the Electricity Market in Abia State, which elapsed after a six-month transition period.

During the transition period, the state government was expected to put necessary structures in place, appointing the board, and equipping them to do the work which NERC has been doing, which it has accomplished with creating ASERA and appointing its board.

The electricity market comprises of all stakeholders in the electricity ecosystem, include those that generate, transmit and generate power, as well as the customers and consumers.

Expressing happiness that Abia has been given the final order by NERC, Onyegbule said “today is a very significant milestone in the life of ASERA, as we have completed the six-month transition yesterday.

“So effectively from today, the responsibility and the mandate to regulate, oversight, and manage the Abia State electricity market falls on ASERA, and no longer NERC. It has a lot of significance and impact on the market we are going to be administering.”

“So, what we’re saying is that by creating a market in Abia state, the state has created a platform that all the stakeholders can come and play.

“Instead of us continuously depending on national grid to get supply, we can decide to build power plants around the state, which is what the His Excellency has also envisioned, that we need to build generation capacity that will be supplying to meet our local needs,” Onyegbule said.

“When we create that kind of market, first of all, it will bring competition, and competition creates efficiency in service,” he said, adding: “So, in the next few months or years, we’ll be able to attract the right people to come and do investment for us in our markets, and they will get rewarded for investing in the market.”

He assured that the last chain in that market, the consumers and the customers, will get a fair deal.

“We also think the coming of the regulator in the state will give the consumer a louder voice to be heard, and also to be treated rightly. That is what ASERA stands to achieve in terms of ensuring there is a balance between regulation and customer delivery.

“We expect very fair treatment from the operators, the distribution companies, particularly every complaint that is raised by a consumer or a customer in our market must be addressed. We dream of a future where we will be able to create availability in a very reliable way for every Abian,” he stressed.

He assured that ASERA would not depart from extant laws an delivering its mandate. “In discharging this obligation to its Licencees and stakeholders, the Authority (ASERA) will be guided by the extant provisions of the law and its regulatory instruments in pursuit of a balanced regulatory landscape through fair, objective and transparent processes,” he promised

“We will ensure that stakeholders discharge contractual obligations to one another while upholding the terms of their licenses, and customer’s voices will be heard and respected while we will focus on quality service delivery,” he promised.

Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Engr. Ikechukwu Moday, described the development as a new dawn in the electricity sector in the state.

“I’m personally very excited that this journey is almost at an end. We have to take our future on our hands. Consumers, they don’t need to go to Abuja to make a complaint.

“They will go to ASERA and make a complaint. I believe the solid team that Mr. Onyegbule has selected to help the Board of Directors will really help them,” the Commissioner said.

Deriving authority from the Electricity Act of 2023, Abia State Government formally enacted the Abia State Electricity Law, 2025 and established the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority (ASERA or the Authority) as the independent statutory regulator for the electricity market within the territory of Abia State with its headquarters in Umuahia.

The Electricity Law 2025 of Abia State was passed in March 2025. On April 29th, the board of the authority was created by the state’s House of Assembly and His Excellency inaugurated the board on the 30th of April, thus heralding the birth of the state’s electricity market that would be foresighted by the state’s regulatory authority.

The transfer is in line with the Electricity Act 2023, which empowers states to regulate their electricity markets.

Abia State joins other states, including Lagos, Kaduna, and Oyo, in gaining regulatory autonomy over their electricity sectors.