The House Committee on Public Accounts has resolved to approve financial relief measures and a 10-year debt restructuring framework for the Kano, Jos, and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos).
This framework covers accrued interest on debt from 2015 to September 2025 amounting to 128.6 billion naira as well as historical debts totaling 120 billion naira bringing the combined outstanding liability to 248.6 billion naira.
The committee’s resolution follows the adoption of a technical subcommittee report, which forms part of the 2021 Auditor-General for the Federation’s report on the growing indebtedness of eleven electricity distribution companies as escalated by the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc (NBET).
A major issue during the hearings was the dispute over interest charges on outstanding invoices, with the Jos, Ikeja, and Kano DisCos contesting their legitimacy on the grounds that the Market Rules did not explicitly provide for them.
In response to these concerns, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) issued a directive dated January 2026 that NBET should not charge interest on outstanding invoices between 2015 and 2020 but however mandate NBET to charge interest on outstanding invoices from 2021 onward.
The Committee Chairman, Rep. Bamidele Salam, urged strict compliance with market obligations by all DisCos to prevent further accumulation of debt, warning that without urgent financial restructuring and regulatory intervention, the sustainability of Nigeria’s electricity distribution sector could remain at risk.
RLS/ROSY
