The Federal Government has announced plans to introduce electricity tariffs for 25 tertiary institutions and teaching hospitals benefiting from its renewable energy projects.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the unveiling of the Renewable Asset Management Company, RAMCO.
Tegbe explained that the tariffs would be used to maintain and sustain the government’s renewable energy infrastructure deployed across the institutions.
He said the government had previously provided free electricity to some beneficiary universities but would now require them to pay for the power generated by the renewable energy assets.
According to the minister, some universities had enjoyed free electricity for two years under the programme.
He said, “Some universities came to me on a courtesy visit to thank me after using free light for two years. I told them, thank you; the pro bono is over. We are coming to commission, and you will pay tariff. The same thing with teaching hospitals.”
Tegbe said the new arrangement was designed to address the government’s longstanding challenge of maintaining public infrastructure after construction.
“It is a new dawn. We are very good at building public assets but poor at sustaining them. RAMCO offers a different model to renewable energy,” he said.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, also backed the proposed tariff system.
Aliyu disclosed that the Federal Government, through the REA, had deployed 82 megawatts of solar hybrid power across 22 federal universities and three teaching hospitals since 2017 under the Energising Education Programme.
He said beneficiary institutions must contribute financially to the continued operation and maintenance of the facilities.
“Government has funded this asset. REA has built them. Beneficiary institutions must contribute to sustaining them by paying for the electricity they consume,” Aliyu said.
Among the institutions benefiting from the programme are Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, alongside three teaching hospitals.
The development means beneficiaries that have previously received electricity from the government funded renewable energy projects will now be required to pay tariffs as part of a new sustainability model.
