IBEDC set to restore power to UCH after 100 days blackout

• IBEDC agrees to restore electricity to parts of the University College Hospital within 48 hours after months of total blackout
• The Federal Government plans to install a 50MW solar mini-grid at UCH and the University of Ibadan to ensure long-term power supply
• The power company confirms it is working with UCH management to finalize the electricity restoration plan

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has agreed to restore power to some sections of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, within 48 hours after the hospital endured 100 days without electricity.

The resolution was reached on Monday during a crucial meeting involving the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; UCH’s Chief Medical Director (CMD), Jesse Otegbayo; and IBEDC’s Managing Director, Francis Agoha. 

The meeting, held at the UCH Conference Room in Ibadan, aimed to resolve the hospital’s prolonged power crisis, which stemmed from an unpaid electricity bill of over N283 million.

As the meeting was ongoing, medical students at UCH staged a protest at the CMD’s office, demanding immediate restoration of electricity and water supply. 

Holding placards with messages such as “+100 Days of Darkness: Save UCH”, “Medical School Is Hard Enough – Give Us Light”, and “This Is Not How We Want to Live”, the students expressed frustration over the unbearable conditions caused by the prolonged power outage.

Speaking after the meeting, Minister Adelabu described the situation as an embarrassment to both the hospital’s management and the Federal Government. 

He attributed the massive debt to several factors, including sharp practices, unmetered consumption, outdated infrastructure, and an unstructured billing system.

To prevent future occurrences, he emphasised the need to separate electricity accounts for different units of the hospital, such as Clinical Services, the College of Medicine, and commercial outlets.

“This power crisis at UCH has reached an unacceptable level, considering the hospital’s status as a leading healthcare institution in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is embarrassing for such a facility to be in total darkness for so long,” Adelabu stated.

He noted that other teaching hospitals, including those in Benin, Lagos, Calabar, Maiduguri, and Abuja, had faced similar challenges but overcame them through government intervention via solar mini-grids. 

The Federal Government, he revealed, plans to install a 50-megawatt solar mini-grid at the University of Ibadan and its College of Medicine, with completion expected within the first half of the year.

As an immediate solution, IBEDC agreed to restore electricity to some parts of UCH within 48 hours, while the hospital will settle its N283 million debt in installments over the next 8 to 12 months, in addition to paying its current bills. 

Moving forward, each major consumer at UCH will be responsible for their electricity payments, and separate transformers will be installed to prevent billing issues.

Adelabu further stressed the importance of metering all sections of UCH to prevent fraudulent practices. 

He warned against power theft, describing it as an economic crime that should be reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“The issue of fraud and power theft will not be tolerated. Some banks have been caught bypassing electricity connections, which is a criminal offence. I have advised the CMD to report any such incidents to the EFCC,” he stated.

IBEDC’s Managing Director, Francis Agoha, confirmed that efforts were already underway to restore electricity to parts of the hospital. 

He assured that IBEDC’s team would collaborate with UCH officials to finalise the restoration process and implement a structured billing system to prevent future disputes.

Electricity blackout looms as NMDPRA halts gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Nigeria faced an electricity blackout following a directive by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) instructing gas producers to halt gas supply to indebted power generation companies (GenCos).

In a post shared on Wednesday, December 11, via its official X (formerly Twitter) account, the Nigeria National Grid disclosed that the directive stems from the Federal Government and some GenCos' failure to pay over N2 trillion in legacy debts owed to gas producers.