Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has disclosed that it loses approximately ₦9bn annually through energy and revenue losses on its Jimeta electricity network in Adamawa State, raising concerns about the financial sustainability of electricity distribution and the challenges facing infrastructure development.

The Chairman of YEDC’s Board of Directors, Omatseyin Ayida, disclosed this on Friday, November 6, 2026, during the inauguration of the Rhossili International concrete pole factory along the Yola-Numan Road.

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Ayida explained that the Jimeta network receives nine megawatts from the company’s total electricity allocation but loses 62 per cent of the energy and revenue associated with the feeder.

According to him, the losses amount to approximately ₦740m monthly, translating to nearly ₦9bn annually, resources that could otherwise support equipment procurement, infrastructure rehabilitation and staff salaries.

“The Jimeta network alone takes nine megawatts from our total allocation, yet we lose 62 per cent of energy and revenue on this feeder.

That is ₦740m monthly, about ₦9bn annually lost in the sector, funds that are meant for equipment procurement, rehabilitation and staff salary payments,” Ayida said.

He expressed concern about the country’s electricity supply challenges, arguing that the current situation was unsustainable if Nigeria hoped to achieve its development ambitions.

“There is no country in the world that can power its future this way,” he stated.

The YEDC chairman identified ageing infrastructure and persistent deterioration of the distribution network as major contributors to the company’s operational difficulties.

He said the company inherited an electricity distribution system that had suffered more than four decades of deterioration, leaving significant gaps in poles, cables and other essential components.

“YEDC inherited a network that had consistently deteriorated for over 40 years, one pole after another, one cable and cross arm after the other,” he explained.

Against this background, the company decided to establish a local manufacturing facility rather than depend entirely on imported materials to address its infrastructure requirements.

Ayida described the factory as part of a broader strategy to strengthen local capacity, accelerate rehabilitation work and reduce the financial pressure associated with sourcing essential electricity distribution materials.

“To fix this problem, we chose not to import a solution, but build one,” he said.

He disclosed that the newly inaugurated facility would produce more than 10,000 concrete poles required for the Jimeta Network Rehabilitation Project.

The planned production includes 397 high-tension poles and 9,939 low-tension poles, which are expected to support the replacement and expansion of the existing distribution infrastructure.

The rehabilitation project will also require 51 distribution transformers and more than 480 kilometres of electricity cables to improve supply to 3,716 customers on the network.

Ayida said the investment was expected to deliver several benefits beyond electricity infrastructure, including employment opportunities for residents of Adamawa State and improved revenue generation for the distribution company.

He explained that reducing operational losses would strengthen YEDC’s ability to reinvest in its network, procure essential equipment and improve service delivery to electricity consumers.

Speaking at the inauguration, Adamawa State Deputy Governor, Professor Kaletapwa Farauta, commended YEDC for establishing the manufacturing facility within the state.

Farauta described the investment as a positive development for local industrial activity and assured the company that the state government would continue to provide a conducive environment for businesses and investors.

The factory inauguration comes amid persistent concerns over the condition of Nigeria’s electricity distribution infrastructure, with ageing equipment, commercial losses, inadequate investment and electricity supply challenges continuing to affect distribution companies and consumers.

For YEDC, the Jimeta rehabilitation project represents an attempt to address some of these longstanding problems through infrastructure replacement and local manufacturing.

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However, the success of the initiative will ultimately depend on the timely completion of the rehabilitation work, improved revenue collection and measurable reductions in energy losses across the network.