By Clement Adeyi, Abuja
The Federal Government has approved a 50 per cent subsidy for the electricity consumed in hospitals nationwide.
The subsidy follows the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu’s promise that the Federal Government would subsidise electricity in hospitals and universities, even if they are on Band-A feeders.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced this yesterday.
Alausa said the gesture intended to reduce public hospitals’ running costs and alleviate patient concerns.
He disclosed this at the National Neo-Psychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna, where he unveiled the electronic health records and an alternative power supply source at the Lawal Jafaru Isah Emergency Complex and the solarisation project at the dialysis unit, which includes a solar-powered borehole.
Recently, in Ibadan, Adelabu said that the government would not subsidise private businesses operating in universities and hospitals.
He also disclosed that the government knew universities and hospitals had difficulty paying the bills.
According to him, the Federal Government was planning to meter all businesses running in each institution to prevent the payment of subsidies to private businesses.
“We know they are development institutions; they are social institutions. However, private businesses are hiding under the health and educational institutions. These people charge their customers commercially and expect to be subsidised because they are located within the territories of these institutions,” he said.
“We said no, go and do a proper search and meter everybody. We are ready to subsidise the properly health- and education-related ones, even if they are on Band A.
“We are compiling our data. DisCos will collect a certain amount, and the government will pay the balance. But we must get the data right so that we are not subsidising a private business charging its customers commercially. That will be an abnormal profit and unfair,” he stated.
Recall that after the Federal Government removed subsidies from customers categorised as Band A and upgraded their daily electricity supply to a minimum of 20 hours daily, universities and public hospitals cried out that their bills had been increased astronomically.
Recently, the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital cried out over what they described as an outrageous electricity bill charged by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company for May.
The institutions said they were jointly presented with a bill of about N280m for May instead of the less than N100m they used to pay.
The Ministry of Power has yet to give details of the subsidy arrangement for the institutions.
