Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has spoken on why it disconnected University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan from national grid.
Gatekeepers News reports that IBEDC said it disconnected UCH Ibadan from national grid because of its outstanding N400 million debt.
Patients at UCH on Monday protested over incessant power cuts at the facility as nurses and doctors have been using lights from their smartphones to operate.
They lamented that there has been no water and electricity at the hospital in the last 17 days and expressed concern that lack of essential services has contributed to patient deaths.
A staffer blamed IBEDC for placing the hospital on Band A tariff which is the most expensive electricity band in the country.
IBEDC cut off the facility’s power supply in February over “technical faults and indebtedness.” It said the hospital owed about N500m in electricity bills.
According to the Punch Spokesperson of the electricity company, Busolami Tunwase confirmed that the disconnection was due to an outstanding debt of N400m and the university has not fulfilled its promise to pay up.
She said though the company sympathises with the hospital, it was compelled to take drastic action because it is being pressured to meet financial obligations to stakeholders.
She said, “However, IBEDC reiterated its commitment to working with UCH and remains open to discussions on a flexible payment arrangement that could be mutually agreed upon by both parties.”
UCH spokesperson, Funmi Adetuyibi in a statement released on Wednesday, said the hospital’s management has held several meetings with IBEDC on payment modalities.
Funmi noted that the electricity bills from IBEDC, inclusive of accumulated bills since 2019 to date, amounted to N3,104,568,114.61 adding that the hospital has so far paid N2,916,567,724.27.
The statement goes, “In a bid to mitigate the effects of this hardship, the management has taken some steps, which include dissemination of information to patients and alternative power sources.”
“We have back-up generators to power critical areas, including the Emergency department, operating theatres, Intensive Care Unit, Laboratories, among others.”
“Solar/inverter panel has been made available in the Emergency Department, Main Theatre, Intensive Care Unit, Paediatrics, East 3 Ward, South East 3, Owena Dialysis Ward, High Dependency Unit, South West 2 and all the clinics.”
