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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
The Abia State Government has taken over the regulation of electricity in the state from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), with effect from 24 December.
This followed the release of the Final Transfer of Regulatory Authority Order to the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority (ASERA) by NERC in Umuahia.
The release has now empowered ASERA to be the statutory regulator for electricity sector activities in Abia State.
The Chairman and CEO of ASERA, Mr Emeka Onyegbule, disclosed this during a press conference, adding that the authority to regulate the electricity market in Abia State takes effect from 24 December 2025.
He recalled that the Constitution was amended in 2023 to enable states to generate, distribute, and transmit electricity.
Onyegbule said that, following the enactment of the law and the birth of the state’s electricity market, NERC issued an interim order permitting states to begin establishing regulatory institutions.
“That order from NERC came out on 24 June 2025 and it had a timeframe of six months for that transition to happen.
“That transition entails putting in the necessary structures in place, appointing the board, and equipping them to do the work which NERC has been doing.
“So today is a very significant milestone in the life of ASERA as we have completed the six-month transition.
“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.”
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, said the enactment of the Abia State Electricity Law 2025 by the state government made possible the progress achieved in the electricity sub-sector.
“The state has formally enacted its own law, the Electricity Law 2025.
“And as a result of that law, the government has gone ahead to set up the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority (ASERA).”
He noted that it is an important development that has imposed one of the signature achievements of the present administration in Abia’s electricity ecosystem.
Equally, the Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Mr Ikechukwu Monday, said the establishment of the state’s electricity market remains critical to achieving the Abia 25-Year Development Plan and accelerating industrialisation.
Monday recalled that the journey to operationalising the electricity market in Abia began on 17 March, following Governor Otti’s assent to the Abia State Electricity Law.
