The University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, Oyo State traded words with the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) on Wednesday after the hospital was disconnected due to alleged debt exceeding N400 million.
IBEDC said it disconnected the hospital after exhaustive attempts to engage with the hospital’s management regarding the substantial overdue balance, which it said had persisted for over six years.
Chief key accounts officer at IBEDC Johnson Tinuoye said in a statement that despite numerous written correspondences and multiple meetings, the UCH management “displayed an uncooperative attitude” toward addressing the outstanding debt.
“IBEDC’s fiduciary responsibility to its stakeholders and market operators necessitates timely and complete remittances, especially considering the liquidity crisis facing DisCos. Unpaid electricity bills hinder DisCos’ ability to fulfill obligations to GenCos and purchase gas for power generation, contributing to the nationwide issue of low power supply,” Mr Tinuoye stated.
He noted that the UCH operates more than 70 diesel-generating sets, consuming diesel at N1,600 per litre.
“This means they generate energy at N400 per kilowatt, significantly higher than the tariff of N74 per kilowatt that IBEDC sells to UCH.
“Additionally, IBEDC has provided infrastructure to ensure 20-24 hours of dedicated supply to UCH, yet they have refused to settle their outstanding debt or propose a workable repayment plan,” he said.
The teaching hospital was disconnected in February over N500m debt. It was reconnected following the payment of some amount of money, after which nothing more was reportedly paid.
However, UCH’s spokesperson Funmilayo Adetuyibi said it was not true that the hospital had an accumulated bill of N495m over the last three years.
She said that the present UCH administration, led by Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, assumed office on March 1, 2019, and inherited over N27m as of February 27, 2019, adding that it had since ensured the monthly payment of bills brought by IBEDC.
“This management has had meetings with the IBEDC management on several occasions,” she said.
“Aside that, a payment plan on how to offset the backlog of the outstanding debt has been forwarded to both the consultant of IBEDC and the regional head of IBEDC.
“This payment plan was rejected by IBEDC. They insisted that first payment of N250m should be made within three months.”
