The University of Jos is dealing with a sharp increase in its monthly electricity cost, which has risen by 300% to N80 million as the threat of disconnection escalates.
The management of Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) Plc has already threatened the institution with disconnection due to unpaid bills, compounding the university’s financial troubles.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tanko Ishaya, revealed the high increase in costs at a peaceful protest at the institution organized by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
According to him, prices increased from N20-30 million to a whopping N80 million as a result of recent tariff hikes, which primarily affected Band A consumers.
Prof. Ishaya emphasized the considerable financial burden this increase places on the university, pointing out that the government’s monthly allocation is insufficient to cover the additional electricity costs.
“We budgeted between N20 to N30 million monthly for our electricity bill, but with the new tariff, JED gave us a bill of N80 million for April,” Ishaya explained.
He further revealed that the university’s monthly overhead stands at just N14 million, a figure dwarfed by the current electricity costs.
In an effort to manage these essential services, the university recently increased student charges, but this measure has proven inadequate.
Reports showed that ASUU members organized a peaceful protest to address the long-standing issue of the non-implementation of agreements reached with the Federal Government.
Prof. Jurbe Molwus, Chairperson of ASUU at the university, represented by his vice, Prof. Kiri Jaryum, presented the union’s charter of demands to the vice chancellor during the protest. This move aligns with the directives from the ASUU National Executive Council, seeking to highlight and resolve the critical issues faced by the academic community.