Reps approve N248.64bn relief, 10-year debt repayment plan for Kano, Jos, Ikeja DisCos

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee has approved a N248.64 billion debt relief and restructuring package for Kano, Jos and Ikeja electricity distribution companies as part of efforts to ease financial pressure in Nigeria’s troubled power sector.

The package, approved on Thursday, combines N128.60 billion in waived accrued interest and N120.06 billion in restructured legacy principal debts, to be repaid over a period of up to 10 years.

The decision followed the adoption of a report by a technical subcommittee established to examine concerns raised in the 2021 Auditor-General’s report on the growing debts owed by distribution companies to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company.

Presenting the report, subcommittee chairman Mark Obetta said the move forms part of wider legislative attempts to tackle long-standing debts threatening the stability of the electricity market.

According to the committee’s findings, the total debt owed by 11 electricity distribution companies climbed from about N1 trillion in December 2024 to N1.3 trillion by September 2025, largely driven by unpaid obligations and mounting interest charges.

Among the listed liabilities, Abuja DisCo owes N275.17 billion, Kaduna N303.81 billion, Kano N96.62 billion, Jos N104.38 billion, and Ikeja N47.64 billion, alongside other major operators across the country.

A major issue during the hearings was the legitimacy of interest charges added to unpaid invoices. Kano, Jos and Ikeja DisCos argued that the existing market framework did not clearly authorise such charges.

Following the dispute, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in January 2026 directed the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company to stop charging interest on unpaid invoices covering 2015 to 2020, while allowing interest accumulation only from 2021.

NERC also instructed that any interest related to delays involving MERISTEM, the financial intermediary managing parts of sector liquidity, should be excluded from the debt calculations.

Based on this directive, NBET was ordered to recalculate the liabilities of the affected DisCos, including the disputed interest obligations.

The House committee subsequently recommended that Kano, Jos and Ikeja DisCos should be allowed to spread repayment of their N120.06 billion legacy debts over a maximum period of 10 years.

It also advised that debts accumulated during periods of government intervention, especially N13.40 billion linked to Kano DisCo, should be transferred to the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company.

In addition, lawmakers endorsed a full waiver of N128.58 billion in interest charges covering 2015 to September 2025, citing the sector’s market stabilisation measures, escrow settlement system, and the fact that DisCos cannot impose equivalent interest charges on customers, including government agencies.

Chairman of the committee, Bamidele Salam, warned that failure to enforce strict restructuring and market discipline could keep the electricity distribution segment trapped in financial instability.

Nigeria’s power distribution companies have battled rising debt burdens since the 2013 privatisation of the electricity sector, with weak revenue collection, metering gaps, tariff shortfalls and technical losses continuing to undermine market liquidity.

The latest intervention by the House is expected to provide breathing space for the affected DisCos while supporting broader reforms focused on cost-reflective tariffs, metering expansion and operational efficiency across the electricity value chain.