Nigerian universities are at the moment experiencing unprecedented crises owing to the rising price of electrical energy within the nation.
A few of the establishments have been disconnected from the nationwide grid owing to tens of millions of unpaid electrical energy payments to DISCOS whereas others who’re nonetheless related are at the moment grappling with enormous quantities of money owed operating into tens of millions of naira.
The PUNCH experiences that the Federal Authorities of Nigeria via the Nigerian Electrical energy Regulatory Fee ordered the fast upward evaluation of electrical energy tariffs from Wednesday, 3 April.
Band A clients are supplied a median day by day electrical energy provide of 20 hours, though many complain they don’t stand up to that.
NERC had in January mentioned the Nigerian authorities would pay as a lot as N1.6 trillion to subsidise electrical energy within the yr 2024.
Unveiling a brand new electrical energy tariff plan payable by electrical energy shoppers within the nation on the time, the Chairperson of the NERC, Sanusi Garba, mentioned the order states acceptable tariffs that buyers ought to pay for buyers to get better their working prices.
Universities gasp for breath underneath rising vitality prices
The School of Medication, College of Lagos is at the moment lamenting its migration to Band A which has elevated vitality prices.
A round by the establishment which was sighted by our correspondent in Abuja famous that the faculty’s energy provide has been reduce off.
“That is to tell members of workers and college students of the School of Medication, College of Lagos in regards to the receipt of a humongous invoice and unsolicited migration of the School to Band A by Eko Electrical Distribution Firm (EKEDC) amounting to N252,631,305.52K (2 hundred and fifty-two million, 600 and thirty-one thousand, 300 and 5 naira and fifty-two kobo solely) VAT inclusive being electrical invoice for June 2024.
“Administration registered its displeasure by conveying an emergency assembly with the EKEDC Workforce to have a spherical desk dialogue and request for a direct migration to Band B. Sadly, after making substantial cost, a disconnection discover was despatched and we have been reduce off from the facility provide on Friday, twenty fifth June 2024,” the round learn.
Equally, the Aliko Dangote College of Science and Expertise, Wudil, Kano State, has been thrown into darkness, following the disconnection of the establishment’s energy provide by the Kano Electrical energy Distribution Firm.
KEDCO disconnected the college a few week in the past over its incapacity to settle its excellent gathered invoice of over N248 million, a scenario that has at the moment paralysed the establishment’s tutorial programmes.
Narrating the upper establishment’s ordeal to newsmen on Monday, the Dean of College students’ Affairs of the college, Prof. Abdulkadir Dambazau, mentioned efforts to persuade KEDCO to reconnect the establishment again to the nationwide grid fell on deaf ears, as the corporate insisted on the settlement of your entire invoice.
Such efforts, Dambazau mentioned, included the cost of N20 million, which, in keeping with him, was the college’s enhanced month-to-month subvention from the state authorities.
Equally, the Jos Electrical energy Distribution Firm disconnected the College of Jos from the nationwide grid over money owed amounting to N126M.
Additionally, the fast previous Vice Chancellor of the College of Benin, Prof. Lilian Salami in an interview with one in every of our correspondents over the weekend famous that the college’s electrical energy was disconnected over N300M unpaid electrical energy debt.
Salami, who doubles because the Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, additionally revealed that the brand new fee introduced by the Nigerian Electrical energy Regulatory Fee escalated UNIBEN’s month-to-month electrical energy invoice from N80m to N280m.