Electricity Tariff: Don’t impose ‘Band A’ on us – Nigerian hospital, medical college say

The management of the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos (CMUL) and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) have cried out over what they described as an outrageous electricity bill charged by Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) for May.

The healthcare institutions said they were recently jointly presented with a bill of about N280 million for May instead of the less than N100 million they used to pay.

Due to the disagreement over the bill, for about 10 days between June and July, electricity to the two health institutions was disconnected, leading to a protest by medical students who said the poor power supply could lead to their failure in the forthcoming examinations.

But the college Provost, David Oke, a professor, told PREMIUM TIMES that the situation has been “temporarily resolved” and that light has since been restored, even as he blamed EKEDC for imposing an unaffordable tariff on the college and the hospital since the introduction of the ‘band system’.

The hospital’s Chief Medical Director (CMD), Wasiu Adeyemo, a professor, also corroborated Mr Oke, insisting that no public institution offering social services such as health and education can afford such “outrageous charges.”

However, the electricity company has denied the allegation, saying the tariff charged is not an imposition but that the charges are determined by the feeder supplying power to the area and the amount of electricity being supplied per day.

Hike in electricity tariff

In April, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced a hike in electricity tariffs for Band A customers, noting that they are offered an average daily electricity supply of 20 hours, although many complain they do not get up to that.

NERC Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, said the Band A consumers represent 15 per cent of the population but consume 40 per cent of the nation’s electricity.

He noted that the increase would not affect Bands B, C, D, and E while noting that the number of customers previously on Band A has been reduced.

Student protest

Students of the college on Friday staged a protest following the disconnection of the electricity supply to the institution and the hospital for more than a week because of outstanding bills.

In a viral video, the students are seen chanting slogans such as “Give us our light, we want light.”

However, the provost of the college confirmed power was later restored on Saturday after they wrote to ministries and paid more than double the amount they used to pay.

‘Band A’ not for us -Provost

According to the provost, as a public educational institution with little revenue generated due to the low cost of education in the country, such an electricity bill cannot be sustained.

Mr Oke said each student pays about N180,000 a year, reiterating that the college won’t be able to afford the Band A electricity bill.

The provost said: “Leave us where we are, we have adapted ourselves and coping. We were paying N19 million to N20 million every month and then compensating with diesel. We had already adjusted to that until they brought in almost N280 million for May.

“We were sent a bill, three times what we used to pay. They said they put us on Band A and I had a meeting with them telling them they can’t put on a band that we can’t afford. Leave us where we were in Band B, they said no.

“But this is a democratic government, how can you force me to go on a Band that I know I can’t afford?”

“Band A not for us”

Also speaking, the LUTH CMD said ‘Band A’ isn’t an option for “public institutions like ours,” adding that the hospital has had to rely on solar.

“We use solar for our theatre, medical ward, as well as blood bank. So that helped us to a very large extent for almost 10 days of power outage. And we also supplement with the generators,” Mr Adeyemo said,

“And Monday I also sent a letter to the Ministry of Energy. We have been able to pay about N240 million for the college and hospital.”

Mr Adeyemo said the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, and his Minister of State counterpart, Tunji Alausa, are aware of the development, and that they know the incapability of the tertiary hospital to afford such a bill.

He said appropriate quarters including the power ministry have been communicated appropriately and that they are awaiting conclusive logical resolution of the matter in the interest of the public.

Long-term goal

The CMD noted that power and personnel have been the major challenges confronting tertiary health institutions in the country, emphasising the need for more investment in renewable energy as a sustainable alternative.

He said: “We need to start putting renewable energy in our institution. We can’t continue to rely on public power supply. We have to be power-sufficient to some extent.

“We hope that the government will give us more money to install solar in many of our facilities. I hope it’s going to be included in the supplementary budget.”

The CMD further suggested that a minimum of 25 per cent yearly will be invested in renewable energy because “there’s nothing we can do without energy.”

He added: “Thank God that we prepared for this. We got about four generators three months ago and we also covered about six critical facilities with solar.

“While the outage lasted we, didn’t send any patients back because, during that period, we were operating at a reduced rate. Our Ward A is covered 24-7 with solar and when it rained on Monday and Tuesday, we supplemented with generators,” he said.

EKEDC comments

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday, the General Manager, Corporate Communications of EKEDC, Babatunde Lasaki, clarified that Band A isn’t enforced as perceived but determined by the feeder and location.

“Nobody can force a band on anybody. It is about your area and the feeder serving your area. If the feeder serving your area is giving you a 20-hour power supply and above, automatically you guys fall under Band A,” Mr Lasakin explained.

“The price is not fixed by the distribution company. It is by regulators. The college and LUTH have been enjoying 20hrs of supply. They used to be on their own power plant but they couldn’t keep up with its cost.”

Mr Lasaki added that people should understand that distribution companies cannot unilaterally fix price, insisting that the “power sector is a highly regulated sector.”