Geregu Power Plc has missed a scheduled payment on its N40.09 billion bond obligations, heightening investor concerns over the financial position of the power Generation Company (Genco), less than a year after the change of leadership at the organisation.

Specifically, the default, disclosed in an updated listing status by FMDQ Securities Exchange, comes about eight months after billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, exited the company in a landmark $750 million transaction that transferred his controlling interest to MA’AM Energy Limited in December 2025.

Also, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday announced the dissolution of the board of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc (KAEDC), citing prolonged financial and regulatory defaults, amounting to approximately N456.5 billion as of May 2026.

The Geregu transaction involved the sale of Otedola’s 95 per cent stake in Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited to MA’AM Energy Limited, effectively transferring the indirect controlling interest in the firm to the Abuja-based energy company. MA’AM Energy is involved in electricity generation and supply, energy trading and marketing.

Following the transaction, Senator Abdulaziz Yari emerged as chairman of the Geregu Power board, while a number of new directors were appointed, including Usman Gur Mohammed, Sani Jaafaru and Uzoamaka Adogu.

The acquisition was financed by a consortium of Nigerian banks led by Zenith Bank, with Blackbirch Capital acting as financial adviser.

Geregu Power was listed on the NGX four years ago amid strong investor expectations about the growth potential of Nigeria’s power market, where demand for electricity remains substantially higher than available generation.

But FMDQ classified the status of Geregu Power’s Series 1 bond as “credit default in the 8th coupon payment and 4th bullet principal repayment”, indicating that the company failed to meet two debt service obligations falling due under the bond structure.

The bond, valued at N40.09 billion, was issued on July 28, 2022, under Geregu Power’s N100 billion debt issuance programme at a fixed coupon rate of 14.50 per cent. It has a seven-year tenor and was structured to provide semi-annual coupon payments alongside scheduled principal repayments, with final maturity due on July 28, 2029.

The missed payments therefore represent a significant development occurring midway through the instrument’s life, rather than a maturity-related obligation, raising questions about the company’s immediate liquidity and debt-servicing capacity.

The development also coincides with a dramatic deterioration in Geregu Power’s financial performance, with the company reporting an 88 per cent decline in profit after tax and a 79 per cent fall in revenue in the first half of 2026.

Geregu Power’s profit after tax fell to N2.54 billion in the six months ended June 30, 2026, from N20.27 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. Revenue also plunged to N18.65 billion from N87.63 billion a year earlier, representing a decline of 78.71 per cent.

The contraction became particularly severe in the second quarter, when the power generation company recorded turnover of only N419.1 million, compared with N55.87 billion in Q2 2025, representing a collapse of almost 99 per cent in quarterly turnover and underscoring the extent of the disruption to the company’s operations and cash generation during the period.

The latest figures are also a sharp reversal from Geregu Power’s expectations earlier in the year. The company had projected Q1 2026 revenue of N57.11 billion, compared with N31.75 billion in Q1 2025, while its projected profit after tax of N12.02 billion was also above the N10.43 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2025.

Instead, the company’s first-half performance came in substantially below both its previous-year results and its own earlier projections.

However, Geregu Power has attributed the operational disruption to a major turbine maintenance programme estimated at N61.47 billion.

The extensive overhaul, THISDAY learnt, is intended to preserve the long-term integrity of the generating assets and improve their availability. But the temporary loss of generating capacity has severely affected electricity output, revenue and, ultimately, cash flows available for debt servicing.

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But despite the sharp deterioration in its operating performance, Geregu Power retained some balance-sheet support during the period, including financial asset impairment reversals amounting to N16.12 billion. Its total liabilities also declined to N239.33 billion during the period.

However, the bond default suggests that the company’s immediate cash-flow position remains under pressure, regardless of the longer-term value of its assets or its balance-sheet position.

The development is likely to draw particular attention from bondholders, who will be watching whether Geregu Power is able to cure the default within any applicable grace period and provide greater clarity on the timing for the restoration of its generating capacity.

GCR Ratings, however, has maintained a more positive long-term assessment of the company, affirming Geregu Power’s national scale long-term issuer rating at ‘A(NG)’ with a Stable Outlook.

The rating agency’s position reflects an expectation that the company’s operating performance will recover as the turbine overhauls are completed and its available generating capacity returns.

The rating outlook provides some counterweight to the immediate concerns generated by the missed debt payments, suggesting that the deterioration is viewed as potentially temporary and linked substantially to the maintenance-related reduction in generation.

For investors in the company’s equity, however, the market has begun to reflect some of the concerns surrounding Geregu Power’s deteriorating performance. Already, the company’s share price has fallen 27.67 per cent since the beginning of the year, declining from N1,141.50 to N825.70 as of Friday, August 7.

The decline indicated that investors have been reassessing the company’s earnings prospects at a time when its revenue has contracted sharply and its ability to meet debt obligations has come under pressure.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday announced the dissolution of the board of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc (KAEDC) over prolonged financial and regulatory defaults, amounting to approximately N456.5 billion as of May 2026.

The commission, in Order No. NERC/2026/086, signed by its Chairman, Dr Musiliu Oseni and Commissioner in charge of Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, said KAEDC owed N415.5 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and another N41 billion to the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).

It further disclosed that the Disco had accumulated other non-market statutory and third-party obligations totalling N14.26 billion.

The latest intervention by NERC is not the first time the regulator has had to step in to address the ownership and management crisis at KAEDC, having intervened two years ago following concerns over the performance of its then core investor, Northwest Power Limited, amid the company’s deteriorating financial and operational position.

The intervention eventually paved the way for ASI Engineering Limited to assume operational control of the Disco in June 2024. The change was intended to provide a fresh start for KAEDC and address longstanding challenges around investment, electricity losses, market remittances and operational performance.

However, the latest regulatory order shows that the change in core investor and operational control has failed to deliver the expected turnaround.

But according to the regulator, KAEDC’s financial position even deteriorated further after ASI Engineering Limited took over operations in June 2024, with the company accruing additional market debt of more than N118.6 billion by May 2026.

NERC said its inquiry found KAEDC to be in a ‘grave situation’ characterised by prolonged regulatory and market default, inadequate investment, weak operational and commercial performance, insufficient assets relative to liabilities and an inability to present a credible pathway to sustainable recovery.

The commission said ASI and KAEDC had also persistently failed to furnish NBET and NISO with acceptable and credible payment bank guarantees required under the Vesting Contract and the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) market rules.

A THISDAY review of the document showed that the severity of the financial crisis was reflected in KAEDC’s 2025 remittance performance. The NERC document indicated that the Disco collected N51.39 billion during the year against adjusted market invoices of N80.44 billion but remitted only N33.73 billion.

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This left a market shortfall of N46.71 billion, with KAEDC achieving only 41.93 per cent market remittance performance for the year.

The Disco’s operational performance was similarly poor. NERC said its Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses stood at 71.88 per cent during the 2025 review period, meaning the company accounted for only about 28.2 per cent of the energy received and delivered to end-use customers.

The commission also faulted ASI’s investment performance, saying actual capital expenditure in 2025 was approximately N2.48 billion against a minimum requirement of N24.51 billion. This represented only about 10 per cent of the required capital expenditure, with NERC noting that the performance was achieved only through commission derogations and forbearances.

“The commission, following its inquiry and consultation undertaken with key industry stakeholders including the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), finds that Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc (KAEDC or the Licensee) is in a grave situation characterised by prolonged regulatory and market default, inadequate investment, weak operational and commercial performance, insufficient assets relative to liabilities, and inability to present a credible pathway to sustainable recovery,” the order stated.

According to NERC, meter coverage also remained low, ranging between 33.26 per cent and 35.54 per cent since ASI’s takeover. The annual metering rate for 2025 stood at 34.42 per cent. NERC said the poor performance persisted despite significant regulatory and government interventions.

It disclosed that approximately N6.58 billion in regulatory derogations had been granted to KAEDC between January 2024 and May 2026, while aggregate federal government intervention disbursements to the Disco since July 2018 totalled approximately N53.79 billion.

The commission said it had also notified KAEDC’s major shareholders and Afrexim of imminent regulatory intervention after the company failed to provide a credible sustainability plan.

At a June 11, 2026 meeting involving key stakeholders, the core investor, it said, requested a 24-month extension to stabilise cash flow, prioritise critical investments and achieve measurable performance improvements, including a pathway to full market remittance.

But NERC, BPE and Afrexim, however, determined that another extension of comparable duration was not justifiable because of the continuing risks to end-use customers and the electricity market.

The commission also said ASI failed to provide a credible plan to support its request for the 24-month extension. Consequently, NERC said it invoked its powers under sections 75 to 79 of the Electricity Act 2023 to intervene in KAEDC.

“KAEDC’s board of directors is hereby dissolved. All directors of KAEDC are removed from office, and the existing board stands dissolved pursuant to section 75 of the EA. The Commission has notified the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and other relevant stakeholders of the dissolution of the board,” it stated.

The commission subsequently appointed a seven-member interim board of special directors to oversee the utility during the transition.

The interim board is chaired by Dr Abdullahi Garba, while Mr Francis Agoha, Mr Aliyu Aliyu, Maj. Gen. Henry Ayamasaowei (rtd) and Dr Haliru Dikko were appointed as special directors.

Also, Dr Ayodeji Gbeleyi was appointed as special director representing the BPE, while Dr Abubakar Hashidu was appointed special director for an initial six-month term and simultaneously designated administrator subject to NERC’s review.

NERC stated that the objective was to preserve KAEDC as a going concern and achieve a transparent transition to a credible core investor within 12 months through a sale process based on the highest and best price offered.

As part of the transition, Afrexim, in coordination with NERC, is to lead an open, competitive and transparent process to secure a replacement core investor and present the preferred investor to the Commission for approval.

NERC further directed the Administrator, BPE, NBET, NISO and other material creditors to reconcile KAEDC’s liabilities and file a liability management plan within 90 days of the commencement of the order. (This Day)

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