The Federal Government has announced plans to introduce electricity tariffs for federal universities and teaching hospitals benefiting from its renewable energy projects across Nigeria.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this on Wednesday during the unveiling of the government-owned Renewable Asset Management Company (RAMCO) in Abuja.
Tegbe explained that the new charges would help the government maintain and sustain renewable energy infrastructure already deployed in public institutions.
He said the government had invested heavily in building renewable energy facilities but had faced difficulties maintaining public assets after completion.
According to the minister, the new approach would ensure that the renewable energy facilities continue to operate effectively without depending entirely on government funding.
Tegbe recalled that some universities had visited his office to appreciate the government after benefiting from free electricity generated by the renewable energy projects for about two years.
He said the period of free electricity had ended and that beneficiary institutions would now be required to pay for the electricity supplied through the government-supported renewable energy facilities.
The minister said teaching hospitals benefiting from the projects would also be required to pay the applicable tariffs.
He explained that the introduction of charges was part of efforts to create a sustainable model for managing renewable energy infrastructure in public institutions.
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The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, also supported the plan, saying beneficiary institutions should contribute to the continued maintenance of the facilities.
Aliyu disclosed that the Federal Government, through REA, had deployed 82 megawatts of solar hybrid power generation capacity to 22 federal universities and three teaching hospitals since 2017 under the Energising Education Programme.
He said the government had funded the development of the facilities and that continued operation would require financial contributions from the institutions benefiting from them.
According to him, introducing electricity tariffs would enable the government to recover part of the value of its investment while ensuring that the renewable energy assets remain functional.
Aliyu said beneficiary institutions would therefore be expected to pay for the electricity they consume as part of efforts to sustain the projects.
The development is expected to affect several federal institutions that have benefited from the government’s renewable energy programme, including Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State.
Three federal teaching hospitals are also among the institutions benefiting from the renewable energy initiative.
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, were among government officials who attended the RAMCO unveiling in Abuja.
The Federal Government says the new management model is intended to ensure that renewable energy investments in public institutions are properly maintained and continue providing reliable electricity over the long term.
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