High electricity costs choking teaching hospitals to death

Skyrocketing electricity costs are crippling Nigeria’s teaching hospitals, jeopardising critical healthcare delivery and training for the nation’s future medical professionals.

The discriminatory electricity tariffs, inadequate power supply, and skyrocketing diesel costs have pushed these institutions, which are at the apex of the nation’s healthcare system, providing critical medical services and training the next generation of healthcare professionals, to the brink.

Findings by Vanguard showed that the challenges are immense in some of the hospitals as costs have quadrupled.

The genesis

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, introduced a segmentation system to prioritise energy distribution based on expected hours of supply — Bands A, B, C, and D.

As a result, most of the hospitals were lumped into Band A, and are expected to receive up to 20 hours of electricity daily and pay significantly higher tariffs.

For some of these hospitals, being on Band A brings mixed feelings. This is because with the new banding system, hospital administrators are forced to navigate a landscape where reliable power remains scarce, and the cost of maintaining operations is at an all-time high.

While some of the hospitals are continuously faced with disconnection threats from power companies, some are struggling to pay the huge monthly bills that have tripled and, in some cases, quadrupled.

Findings showed that these hospitals are struggling to stay afloat amid rising costs and dwindling resources, with potentially dire consequences for patient care.

Hospitals struggle under Band-A tariffs

Despite the fact these hospitals are looking at alternative power supply, including renewable energy, majority now apply load-shedding options to service every unit of their hospitals.

Not too long ago, the University College Hospital, Ibadan, suffered disconnection due to unpaid electricity bills owed Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC.

The hospital was disconnected by the power company following an outstanding debt of nearly N400 million, out of a staggering N3.1 billion accumulated bill since 2019.

According to findings, the hospital is billed between N50 and N60 million every month. At medical institutions like the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, monthly bills sometimes reach between N44 million and N49 million.

These huge costs have severely impacted their research activities.

General hospitals struggle to meet up with services

Like UCH, some general hospitals are struggling to meet up with hospital services.

In some cases, some wards are only lit at the night, while power is used only in other critical units in the health facility.

Most units in the hospital now run on generators.

Sadly the high cost of diesel, and petrol has not helped either.

High cost of diesel, petrol

Findings by Vanguard showed that some of the hospitals spent over N90 million on diesel and petrol, monthly.

From the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, UATH, to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos (NOHIL), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute Metta, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, (LUTH) and the University College Hospital, Ibadan, the situation is the same.

Monthly electricity bills skyrocket

For instance, the monthly electricity bill at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Lagos, NOHIL, jumped from N18 million to N45 million monthly. At the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Ebute Metta, in Lagos, the monthly bill is N20 million for just four hours of electricity every day. At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, the monthly bill vary between N69 million and N252 million.

At the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, UATH, the monthly bill has risen to N35 million.

Unfulfilled subsidy promise

However, the Federal Government in 2024, announced the approval of a 50 per cent subsidy for the electricity consumed in hospitals across the nation.

The Federal Government, through the former Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the subsidy is to reduce the running costs for public hospitals and alleviate the impact on patients.

Though the minister acknowledged that the Federal Government was aware of the harsh reality of the high electricity cost on the hospitals, the subsidy is yet to take effect.

Operational challenges

For the Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of these hospitals, the situation is both financially crippling and operationally challenging, and they called for urgent government intervention.

In an interview with Vanguard, the Medical Director of NOHIL, Dr Mustapha Alimi said the surging cost of electricity and diesel is crippling operations in Nigeria’s federal hospitals, with institutions like the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, spending over N1 billion annually on energy alone.

Speaking candidly, the Medical Director, who said they have become energy managers just to keep hospitals running, stressed the challenges of maintaining uninterrupted power supply while grappling with limited government subventions.

"We spend close to N54 million monthly on electricity, up from N18 million before introduction of the banding system.

“This is not an estimated bill—it’s the reality. Meanwhile, the overhead from the government for electricity is less than N70 million annually, leaving us to rely on internally generated revenue to cover the shortfall.”

He said as a teaching hospital with specialised services and increasing patient patronage, the institution requires uninterrupted power for critical operations.

“We have about seven generators, ranging from 250 KVA to 500 KVA. During grid failures, which can last three to four days, we consume close to 20,000 litres of diesel. That’s just to keep the hospital running,” he explained.

He stated that the diesel costs, combined with generator procurement and maintenance, have pushed energy expenses to unsustainable levels.

“Generators that used to cost N100 million now cost N400 to N500 million. Maintaining them is another challenge. Just to start one of our generators consumes about 60 litres of diesel.”

He said to mitigate these costs, the hospital has opted for the solar option. “We’ve installed about 270 KVA of solar power, prioritizing wards to ensure patient comfort. However, the solar system cannot power critical areas like operating theatres, which require air conditioning and power tools.

“Our theatres have multiple air conditioners and heavy equipment. These cannot be sustained by solar power alone. Renewable energy is the future, but we need significant government investment to expand these systems,” he urged.

Recalling the Federal Government’s plans to subsidise electricity for hospitals, he lamented that the promises remain lunfulfilled.

“We are still waiting for the promised subsidy to materialise. In the meantime, we’ve had to shut down power in non-essential areas to save costs. It’s not ideal, but we have no choice.”

He called on government to prioritise renewable energy solutions for hospitals. Diesel-powered generators are not sustainable. Energy costs will continue to rise globally. We need long-term solutions like solar, wind, and water energy systems,” he said.

Appealling for public understanding, he said: “People need to know the challenges we’re facing. Many of us have become energy managers just to keep our hospitals running. We’re doing our best, but we need support.”

He said more Nigerians turn to government hospitals for affordable healthcare, hence, the need for reliable energy in those institutions has become more urgent. “Hospitals are not just businesses; they provide essential services. The government must act to ensure we can continue to serve the public.”

Band A: Nigeria’s Teaching Hospitals face crippling electricity cost

Other CMDs speak

Also, the Chairman Medical Advisory Committee, CMAC, University of Abuja, UATH, Dr. Bob Ukonu, said the hospital spends over N35 million per month under Band A.

Ukonu, who is also the Director of Clinical Services, said it has been difficult coping with the situation.

“We are struggling to pay and that has affected other services as we struggle to meet needs on the ground.”

The Chief Medical Director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof. Fabanwo Adetokunbo said: “Our electricity bill has quadrupled, and yet we cannot compromise on providing light in emergency and critical areas.”

He said the situation has placed teaching hospitals under severe financial pressure, forcing them to adopt drastic measures to maintain essential services.

“It has been tough, very tough,” Prof. Fabanwo lamented.

“To manage this, we have had to ration electricity during the day, relying on generators and inverters to save costs.”

He explained that the hospital alternates between different power sources to ensure critical operations remain unaffected.

“We use generators during the day and switch to the public electricity supply at night. Critical areas like the intensive care unit, neonatal care unit, and emergency wards have 24-hour power, supported by inverters. However, some general wards may experience brief downtimes during the day when generators are rested,” he explained.