Nigeria’s electricity system looks unified on paper. In practice, it is regional. There is no single national utility like Kenya Power or Eskom that handles distribution across the country. Instead, Nigeria split its power sector into separate companies more than a decade ago. Generation, transmission, and distribution are handled by different players.
For consumers, the most visible part of the system is the distribution company, often called a “DisCo.” This is the company that bills you, connects your home, fixes faults, and installs meters.
If you are asking who your “KPLC equivalent” is in Nigeria, the answer depends entirely on where you live.
How the system is structured
Start with the basics. Generation companies produce electricity. These include gas plants, hydro stations, and a small but growing number of solar projects. Transmission is handled centrally by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). TCN owns and operates the national grid. It moves power from generators to cities and industrial zones.
Distribution is where the system breaks into regions. Eleven privately run DisCos buy electricity in bulk and sell it to end users. This structure was created after the 2013 power sector reforms, when the government unbundled the former Power Holding Company of Nigeria. The idea was simple: regional operators would run local networks more closely and collect revenue more efficiently than a single state utility.
In theory, decentralisation improves accountability. In reality, performance varies widely.
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The 11 regional distribution companies
Each DisCo controls a defined geographic territory. Your service quality, billing experience, and outage frequency depend largely on that operator’s financial strength and technical capacity.
Here is how the country is divided:
Lagos
EKEDC (Eko) and IKEDC (Ikeja)
These two cover Nigeria’s commercial capital. They serve different parts of Lagos State. Demand here is the highest in the country, driven by industry, finance, and dense urban housing.
Abuja and North-Central
AEDC (Abuja Electricity Distribution Company)
Covers the Federal Capital Territory along with Kogi, Nasarawa, and Niger States. This region includes government institutions and fast-growing suburbs.
South-South
PHED (Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company)
Serves Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Akwa Ibom. Heavy industrial loads from oil and gas operations shape demand patterns here.
North-West
KEDCO (Kano Electricity Distribution Company)
Covers Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa. Large populations but lower industrial consumption compared to Lagos.
South-West
IBEDC (Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company)
Serves Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara, and parts of Ekiti and Niger. This is a mix of urban centres, manufacturing hubs, and agricultural communities.
South-East
EEDC (Enugu Electricity Distribution Company)
Covers most of the South-East states. A dense commercial region with many small and medium enterprises.
Other DisCos operate in Benin, Kaduna, Yola, and Jos, completing the national map.
Why this matters to consumers
Two neighbouring states can have very different experiences. One DisCo may invest in meters and network upgrades. Another may struggle with revenue losses, vandalism, or poor collections.
This creates uneven service.
Customers often rely on generators not because generation is absent nationally, but because distribution networks fail to deliver reliably at the local level.
Losses remain high. Many DisCos collect far less revenue than the power they receive from the grid. When cash flow weakens, maintenance suffers. When maintenance suffers, outages increase. The cycle repeats.
Decentralisation alone does not fix electricity. A DisCo must do three things well: meter customers accurately, bill consistently, and reinvest revenue into the network. Without those basics, the system breaks down.
Nigeria’s power debate often focuses on generation capacity. The bigger constraint is usually distribution performance. If you want to understand your electricity experience in Nigeria, start with one question: which DisCo serves your area? That company, more than the national grid, determines whether the lights stay on.
By Thuita Gatero, Managing Editor, Africa Digest News. He specializes in conversations around data centers, AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy.
