The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has called the over 100 days of power outage at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, a national disgrace.
During a visit to the hospital on Monday, he stated that the extended blackout was a shame not only for the hospital and the University of Ibadan but also for the federal government.
For over four months, the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) had disconnected UCH from the national grid due to an outstanding debt of over N200 million.
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UCH, one of Nigeria’s largest and most renowned teaching hospitals, has been forced to rely on generators and other backup power sources to maintain medical services.
The power minister pointed out that this issue wasn’t unique to UCH, as other teaching hospitals, like the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, had faced similar challenges, though they had been resolved with lasting solutions.
Adelabu attributed the problem to a customer-vendor dispute between UCH and IBEDC, and emphasized that the federal government, as the overseeing institution, was unhappy with the extended power failure.
He mentioned that his previous efforts had led to the temporary reconnection of the hospital to the national grid, but the issue resurfaced because the root cause had not been addressed.
This time, Adelabu assured that the government would not only provide an immediate solution but would also tackle the underlying issue to prevent a recurrence.
He announced that IBEDC had committed to reconnecting UCH to the national grid within 24 to 48 hours.
However, he explained that reconnecting the entire hospital would be a complex task, involving high-powered transformers and various connections, and urged patience from the hospital’s staff and residents.
He also revealed that a new transformer had been procured to separate the hospital’s clinical services from the rest of the hospital’s power users.
This move would help UCH monitor its own energy usage and pay its bills separately.
The minister noted that UCH’s energy costs were high because it was covering the power consumption of other businesses within the hospital grounds, such as banks, business centers, dry cleaners, and pharmacies, which weren’t paying for their electricity use.
Adelabu assured that the government would ensure these entities were held accountable for their electricity consumption.
Additionally, he shared that a long-term solution would involve implementing a solar-powered mini-grid system for both the hospital and the university.
The project, which is expected to take six to nine months, would reduce the hospital’s energy costs by two-thirds.
