The Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority (ASERA) has formally assumed full regulatory oversight of the State’s Electricity market, following the completion of a six-month transition process from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ASERA, Mr Emeka Onyegbule, disclosed this on Tuesday, while briefing Journalists in Umuahia, describing the development as a major milestone in Abia State’s power sector reform.
Mr Onyegbule said the takeover was anchored on the 2023 constitutional amendment which empowers States to generate, transmit and distribute Electricity within their territories, thereby enabling them to establish independent electricity markets and regulatory institutions.
According to him, Abia State responded promptly by enacting the Abia State Electricity Law in April 2025, laying the legal foundation for a State-owned Electricity market.
He explained that the ASERA board was constituted by the Abia State House of Assembly on April 29 and subsequently inaugurated by Governor Alex Otti on April 30, marking what he described as the formal birth of Abia State’s Electricity market under a State regulatory framework.
Mr Onyegbule noted that NERC issued an interim order on June 24, 2025, granting States a six-month window to complete the transition, which involved setting up institutional structures, appointing a governing board and building regulatory capacity.
“Today is a very significant milestone in the life of the ASERA as we have completed the six-month transition as at yesterday.
“So effectively from today, the responsibility and the mandate to regulate oversight and manage the Abia State’s Electricity Markets falls on ASERA and no longer NERC”, he said.
Mr Onyegbule explained that the authority considered it necessary to brief the media first, given the significance of the development for Electricity consumers and Investors in the State.
According to the ASERA Boss, the new regulatory framework will bring electricity regulation closer to the people, eliminating delays associated with seeking redress from NERC.
“Residents will no longer need to wait for NERC to resolve electricity complaints. ASERA is here to protect consumers and ensure they are treated fairly by operators,” he said.
He added that the ASERA would strike a balance between effective regulation and improved service delivery as well as strengthen consumer protection mechanisms across the State.
Mr Onyegbule disclosed that ASERA has commenced the development of operational regulations for the Electricity market, assuring that stakeholders and the general public would be adequately engaged before the regulations are finalised.
He said the establishment of ASERA would also boost investor confidence, noting that Electricity supply remains critical to Abia State’s economic development and industrialisation drive.
The ASERA Boss explained that the State electricyity market would provide a platform for generators, transmission companies, distributors and consumers to interact, adding that a competitive market would reduce dependence on the national grid.
According to him, competition would drive efficiency, enhance service quality and ultimately improve power supply to households and businesses.
Mr Onyegbule further identified consumers as key participants in the electricity market, being the final buyers of power.
Addressing concerns over estimated billing, Mr Onyegbule said ASERA would ensure fairness and transparency in billing practices, stressing that estimated bills would be closely monitored to prevent excessive charges.
He identified improved metering infrastructure as the long-term solution to billing disputes, adding that ASERA aims to attract investments that would close the metering gap in the State within the next three years.
Mr Onyegbule pointed out that the establishment of ASERA signals a new era in Electricity governance in Abia State, anchored on accountability, efficiency and improved service delivery.
In his remark, the Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Mr Ikechukwu Monday, said that the establishment of the State’s Electricity market remains critical to achieving the Abia 25-Year Development Plan and accelerating industrialisation.
Monday said that the journey to operationalising the Electricity market began on March 17, following Gov. Alex Otti’s assent to the Abia State Electricity Law, adding that electricity remains central to economic growth, investment attraction and improved service delivery to consumers across the State.
The Commissioner added that the new electricity market had been designed to be world-class, investor-friendly and consumer-focused.
Mr Monday expressed confidence that the ASERA board would effectively handle consumer complaints and regulatory oversight noting that the establishment of the market marked a major step in allowing Abia to control its electricity future.
He said that ASERA has been empowered to issue metering and billing licenses to encourage private investment in meter deployment, noting that the improved metering would ensure fairness by allowing consumers to pay only for electricity consumed.
The Commissioner explained that Electricity costs vary based on generation sources such as gas, hydro or solar, adding that tariffs in Abia would now be cost-reflective and determined under the State’s regulatory framework.
He said that the law also provides safeguards, including subsidies, to protect vulnerable and less-privileged consumers pointing out that with ASERA in place, electricity decisions would now be taken within Abia State, not in NERC.
Also, the Commissioner for Information, Mr Okey Kanu, said the formal establishment of ASERA followed the enactment of the Electricity Law 2025 to transform the electricity sector.
Kanu said that the new law empowered the State to create ASERA as an independent statutory body to regulate the Abia Electricity market.
He said that the development represents a major regulatory milestone and one of the signature achievements of the Gov. Alex Otti administration in Abia’s Electricity ecosystem.
