Nigeria’s power sector has lurched from one crisis to another for more than three decades—chronic generation shortfalls, ageing transmission lines, opaque tariffs, and a regulatory environment many investors found impenetrable. Peak demand now regularly exceeds 19 GW, yet available capacity hovers around 4–5 GW, forcing households and businesses to rely on costly self-generation.

Analysts have long argued that only a disruptive intervention, coupled with decentralised solutions, could lift the country out of this quagmire. That intervention arrived in March 2023, when the 9th National Assembly passed—and ex-President Muhammadu Buhari signed—a constitutional amendment that moved electricity from the Exclusive List to the Concurrent Legislative List.

For the first time, states were empowered to enact their own electricity laws, issue licences, and regulate intra-state markets. Enugu state governor, Mr. Peter Mbah, looked at a new legal opportunity and didn’t file it away for some future administration to deal with. For Enugu, it was a lifeline, and Governor Mbah grabbed it with both hands. How did a state that shared in Nigeria’s decades-old power malaise flip the script so fast?

Within three months of his tenure, Governor Mbah’s administration drafted and passed a law many believed would take years to materialise.

The Enugu State Electricity Bill was swiftly signed into law on September 1, 2023, giving birth to the Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission—(EERC). With this, the State assumed the authority to regulate electricity generation, transmission, and distribution within its boundaries. And in constituting the Commission, Governor Mbah headhunted even outside the state, for very experienced hands in the industry.

This, in a historic move, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) commenced the process of delegating full oversight to a subnational authority for the first time in the country’s history.

Setting the pace, Enugu officially started taking control of its electricity market on April 22, 2024. By October, the transition was complete. Enugu became the first Nigerian State to own its power destiny from plug to pole, a testament to the speed and efficiency of the State’s transformation.

This was no mere bureaucratic handover. It was the beginning of a redefinition of power in the most literal sense. The EERC swiftly issued interim distribution license, processed independent power generation applications, and resolved consumer complaints with a speed rarely seen in Nigeria’s public service.

They licensed Mainpower Electricity Distribution Limited, a new vehicle created by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), to handle intra-state power delivery. Then came the generation licenses—10 megawatts for Fedikore Limited and another 5 megawatts for Tempo Power Solutions. Just like that, 15MW of embedded generation capacity was on the table, and several more applications are in the pipeline.

“This was never about symbolism,” said EERC Chair Chijioke Okonkwo. “Investors needed regulatory certainty, consumers needed speed, and the State needed power.” Chijioke likes to rattle off the scoreboard: two-generation licences, one interim distribution licence and “over 60 customer complaints resolved” in half a year. Tempo Power Solutions Executive Chairman Collins Kalabare is even more direct: “The process is seamless—you don’t need to know anybody.”

However, policy and licensing are just the beginning of the change. The real transformation is in the people—the heart of the story. In Maryland, a mechanic like Obinna Obikwu no longer closes shop early due to power outages.

“Honestly, outages are no longer like before now,” says Obikwu. “We suffered under EEDC, but since the new Commission took charge, the difference is being gradually felt. At least, they resolve your complaints.”  His neighbour, Loveday Ikpeama, agrees—though he still pleads for prepaid meters so the billing can catch up with the service.

Ikpeama was also elated that the days of bribery for connection were over. The EERC’s processes—licensing, tariffs, complaint resolution—are online, visible, and, most importantly, trusted.

In Coal Camp, Abakpa, Awkunanaw, hope is rising. In the nooks and crannies, power solutions are being created. The relief and joy felt by the residents of Enugu are palpable. But even more fundamental is the hope that wells up in them by that with the continued interest and influx by investors in the electricity sector, the challenges of power poverty that debilitated creativity and enterprise, will soon be a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, the reasons the Enugu State electricity market is attractive to investors were aptly captured by the Exective Director of Tempo Power, Mr Collins Kalabare, during the aforementioned issuance of 5MW power generation license to the company. He was full of praise for the EERC for running a professional, transparent, and independent system where investors do not need to know anybody to get things done fast.

The state government isn’t leaving it all to regulation. It’s pairing reform with enablers: roads to industrial clusters are being paved and upgraded. Security patrols have been strengthened to protect infrastructure. The government is working to identify anchor loads—industrial or commercial users who can act as stable off-takers to make new-generation projects bankable. They’re even addressing issues like unfair billing, as seen in recent directives to Mainpower about capping advance connection charges and curbing arbitrary estimated billing.

Of course, challenges remain. Gas supply is not guaranteed, especially with FX volatility and pipeline vandalism, which are still an ever-present threat. Legacy debts from EEDC need to be cleaned up.

And EERC, though nimble, is small—just 20 staff members managing an entire market. Plans are underway to scale that up, but the gap is real. Still, these are the problems of a market in motion, not one stuck in stasis.

This is more than policy. It’s a culture shift. For a generation raised to treat “light” as a luxury, there’s something poetic about being able to charge your phone without stress, store food without fear of spoilage, and sleep without the throb of an old diesel generator in your ear.

For the first time in a long time, the average Enugu resident isn’t talking about what’s broken. They’re talking about what’s next—meters, mini-grids, and job openings in the growing energy sector.

That shift in conversation—from despair to demand, from helplessness to expectation—is the truest sign that the power sector in Enugu isn’t just changing voltage levels. It’s changing lives. And maybe, just maybe, it’s changing the story of Nigeria itself.

Enugu hasn’t solved Nigeria’s electricity crisis, but it has proved that a bold governor, a nimble law and a fearless regulator can redraw the power map in real-time.

Ukachukwu, a public analyst, wrote from Lagos.