The Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has been disconnected from the national electricity grid following its inability to pay its electricity bills.
The university has experienced 24 hours blackouts since Thursday, 28 November, when the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company disconnected it.
In a memo on Friday ABU told staff and students that it is making “frantic” efforts to pay the bills.
“The University has been facing difficulty in footing the monthly electricity bills following increment in electricity tariffs early this year,” the memo reads.
The Premium Times reports indicated that the the university said it has paid over N1 billion as electricity bill to the company since January, excluding the amounts expended on diesel to power generators. “This is even at the expense of the critical statutory functions of the University.”
Several Nigerian universities and university teaching hospitals have struggled with increased electricity tariff amidst funding challenges.
Their woes were worsened by the hike in electricity tariff by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in April.
The new tariff regime classified consumers into Band A, B,C and D. For Band A users, the NERC raised electricity prices per kilowatt-hour from N68 to N225, in return for guaranteeing 20 hours of electricity supply per day.
Many electricity distribution companies have moved institutions in their domain to Band A, ignoring their protests against the move. This ultimately increased their tariffs, leaving them struggling to pay.
