By Damola Kola-Dare
UNINTERRUPTED electricity is pivotal to the operations of universities and other institutions. In the citadel of learning globally, daily activities, including research, laboratory tests and experiments, are carried out effectively when power supply is stable. Computers, smart boards, projectors and other devices used in these institutions require electricity. Top-ranked universities in the world like Harvard, Oxford, Yale, and Columbia have a solid power base.
Universities or institutions with epileptic power or unavailable electricity do not qualify to be a knowledge centre; otherwise, their operations will be seriously hampered.
Therefore, not a few eyebrows were raised when the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, last week, said most universities were on the verge of shutting down over the exorbitant cost of electricity. He spoke at the opening of a two-day national conference convened by ASUU in Abuja with the theme: Nigeria in a State of General Crisis: The Search for a New Path to Development.
Underscoring the need to address the extremely high cost of electricity in universities, he said while public universities get about N15 million monthly as running costs from the Federal Government, the electricity bills of some universities run between N200 million to N300 million monthly on average.
The ASUU president said the classification of electricity consumers into bands has led to an increase in cost for most universities, stressing that with the rise in electricity cost, administering and managing most public universities had become a tough task.
He noted that universities have now resorted to utilising their internally generated revenue (IGR) to pay for electricity.
He said: “We are so challenged. But let me give you a quick example, What the University of Lagos; the University of Ibadan; the Ahmadu Bello University, and the University of Nigeria, Nsuka get from the government account for the overhead running of the university in a month is N15 million. Meanwhile, the University of Lagos needs about N200 million to pay the electricity bill. It is this IGR that you talk about that is used to pay for the electricity.
“One of the universities today is closing down because they have been given an electricity bill of N300 million. What the government gives you to run the system is N15 million, and you get a bill of N300 million for electricity alone. Where is that money coming from? You have to run the laboratories. You have to run the diesel. You have to run the fuel for vehicles.
“That is where the IGR is going today. Not being able to run the system, to buy books in the library, to run your library, to earn those things. They are all part of their so-called IGR, and that is what they talk about. But you know what? A government that will give just N15 million for UNILAG to run, will in turn, give one senator N21 million a month. The government gives a system N15 million, but an individual gets N21 million. That’s where our priority is.”
On the Band A classification for the universities, he said: “Electricity tariffs are a nationwide concern and not limited to universities alone. The idea of categorising consumers into bands such as Band A or Band B is flawed. Billing should be based on actual consumption, with a consistent per-unit rate for all users.
“If someone receives 14 hours of electricity, they naturally pay more because they use more, but automatically charging themmore simply because they fall under Band A is illogical. This new system is terrible and unfair.”
It is not out of place to say universities are already feeling the heat of a hike in tariffs. University of Lagos (UNILAG) had its supply disconnected by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company recently over unpaid electricity bills.
The university is battling the challenge of a hike in electricity costs following the introduction of classification, whereby the EKEDC upgraded the university’s tariff category from “Band B” to “Band A,” resulting in a hike in its electricity bills.
Before the upgrade, it was gathered that UNILAG paid between N150 million and N180 million monthly. But with the new “Band A”, the school’s tariff increased to nearly N300 million. The university noted that it was given a bill of N472 million for July, further exacerbating its electricity debt.
Checks by The Nation revealed that universities spend over 200 million on electricity in a month. Babcock University noted that its monthly electricity bill is between N175 million and N321 million. Last year, it was between N94 million and N118 million. At the University of Benin (UNIBEN), the bill, which was N80 million, is now about N300 million monthly.
A leading expert and scholar in Oil & Gas, Energy and Electricity Law in Africa and a lecturer at the University ofLagos (UNILAG), Prof. Yemi Oke, noted that the creation of mini-grids, solar and others would reduce the burden on universities.
The don stressed the need for electricity utility companies, government and universities to sit down, harmonise, and agree on a concession tariff model or structure that enables the Federal Government to partly subsidise and the DisCos as it were, to also give a bit of concessional tariff as against regular tariff, while universities should also slightly restructure their usage and impose a minimal fee on maybe students service charges.
He said: “I agree with the fact that universities should start to generate their electricity for internal use. Most universities abroad generate electricity internally through captive structures. Most private universities in Nigeria are already or about to generate their electricity internally through IPP models. Those are the forms of generating models they could adopt for public universities. Public universities have been constrained by a lack of funds essentially, as well as internal and external progress.
“No public university of its own can self-generate or be self-sufficient or self-dependent. In terms of electricity, they have to depend on the Federal Government or the states that own those universities.
“In the case of state universities, not only public universities, we also talk of public institutions like teaching hospitals and others like research institutes, they face the same challenge or challenges. They need to generate through either a captive mini-grid or IPP model through gas and other means. Just as the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace recently declared that Lagos and Abuja would soon go on extensive solarisation because the Federal Government has been paying an average of N1 billion each for Lagos and Abuja airports for electricity. And that’s not sustainable. Universities will continue to incur high electricity tariffs because of the population and usage, and the students are not able to pay for those services, and the students or parents are not willing to have an increase in tuition and other components. Education, essentially at higher levels, is seriously subsidised in Nigeria.
“So, is it that the students need to pay for the legislative bills through imposed service charges at the level of the universities? If the Federal Government intervenes, as declared recently,universities will be under special tariffs, and they will work it out to ensure that businesses and residents on campus will pay normal tariff, while academic units will be paying subsidisedelectricity, but the universities will also try to generate their electricity for internal use.
“Most universities are willing already, but I guess the political will on the part of the government is not there. The former administration declared that the number of investors would start to generate electricity internally through IPPs that the government was embarking upon them. We haven’t seen the manifestation of that policy since Mr Babatunde Raji Fasholaleft as a Minister of Power years ago. So, policy inconsistencies and others have been hindering the realisation of that objective of self-generation for universities. But that’s the way to go. The cost of electricity in those universities is not sustainable.
“Is the government willing to put the money down? I don’t think so. The government is even constrained. I’ve advocated that the electricity utility companies, government and universities should sit down and harmonise, agree and harmonise concession tariff model or structure that enables the Federal Government to partly subsidise and the DisCos, as it were, to also give a bit of concessional tariff as against regular tariff, while universities should also slightly restructure their usage and impose a minimal fee on maybe students service charges.
“I know there’s this kind of levy on students for some services, aside from tuition, you may need to review that, that at the end of the day, you have a pool to continue to meet the electricity needs. They should also try to attract serious-minded investors who invest in small-scale generating structures, through captive, wind, solar, biomass and other means in the university, in collaboration with appropriate units or engineering departmentsin those universities or other university-based experts to sit together and work it out like other investors abroad.
“Funding for such product may be sourced externally, in Nigeria through investors or social intervention or through grants from other interventions abroad from agencies that fund developmental projects in universities. If it’s for academic groups, also companies may assist universities as part of their corporate social responsibilities and they net it off from their tax obligation. So, there are so many ways universities could deploy strategies to ensure that they are self-sufficient in a necessity, unlike the current structure that we have. So, the university needs to demonstrate appropriate political will, while government and other stakeholders will also collaborate or assist universities and other public institutions to meet their electricity needs.”
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) recently reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of the Energising Education Programme (EEP) at the 2024 EEP Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum (SEF) organised by the Nigeria Electrification Programme (NEP).
The three-day event which was held last month brought together key stakeholders including Vice Chancellors, Chief Medical Directors, Directors of Physical Planning/Works, and Legal Officers from EEP beneficiary institutions, along with representatives from the World Bank (WB), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other partners.
With the theme: “Empowering Education through Sustainable Energy: Collaborative Pathways for the Long-term Success of the Energising Education Programme (EEP),” the forum harped on strategies for ensuring that solar hybrid power plants deployed across the EEP beneficiary universities remain sustainable, fostering educational advancement and institutional growth.
Launched by the Federal Government in 2018, the EEP was designed to provide a reliable power supply to 37 federal universities and seven affiliated teaching hospitals across the nation under the three phases of the EEP. Twenty-four federal universities and four teaching hospitals have already been included.
This initiative is tasked with developing off-grid, dedicated and independent power plants, as well as rehabilitating existing distribution infrastructure, to supply clean and reliable power to the 37 universities and seven affiliated university teaching hospitals.
Aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises the expansion of alternative energy access to underserved and unserved rural communities, the REA’s focus is on advancing sustainable solutions that will provide reliable energy to educational institutions across Nigeria.
This effort is crucial to fulfilling the national vision of enhancing energy access and driving economic and social development.
In a bid to give respite to the institutions, the Federal Government announced a 50 per cent electricity subsidy for educational institutions and other parastatals to ease their financial burden. Nevertheless, the subsidy, which is part of the President’s efforts to support the education sector, and others, requires speedy implementation.
The process of implementation is said to be developed by the Minister of Power. Stakeholders believe it will reduce energy tariffs for public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for quality and effective service delivery. According to them, this underscores the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to important sectors like education and others.
Amid the crippling debts, Vice Chancellor, African School of Economics (the Pan-African University of Excellence), Abuja, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, believes if universities have an enabling environment, they can generate their own power.
He said: “Well, the issue of electricity is a contentious one and the tariffs are now suffocating our institutions of higher learning. This shouldn’t be so. I think the best approach to this matter isn’t about universities disconnecting themselves from the national grid. The national grid belongs to the nation and universities are part of Nigeria. We won’t say those who are not satisfied with Nigeria should get out of the country because the country belongs to all of us, even if those who want to leave are free to do so.
“You know challenges bring the best out of us and necessity is the mother of invention. I know some universities are now working seriously on having alternative energy sources. Even individuals are investing in alternative power sources.
“Let the government do its part by making the environment conducive and let universities be innovative in solving challenges that confront them.
“The important issue is the need to price services moderately and not choke the already distressed consumers, including universities. Certainly, as there are millions of Nigerians who are water-sufficient having dug their own boreholes, many Nigerians will be left with no option than to seek energy sufficiency outside the electricity companies.”
Experts believe that universities should play a role in tackling power outages and investing in renewable energy through collaborative efforts, research initiatives, and practical applications. They noted that engineering faculties should be at the forefront of innovations and develop off-grid systems.
Equitable billing imperative
Osodeke also called for equitable payment for consumers. According to him, people should pay more because they consume more energy, not because of classifications.
“The system should be fair to all Nigerians, charging solely based on the actual electricity units consumed. Whether in universities, towns or villages, everyone should pay the same rate per unit of energy consumed,” he added.
