JOS, Nigeria – The University of Jos is grappling with a steep increase in its monthly electricity bill, which has surged by 300% to N80 million, amid threats of disconnection from the Jos Electricity Distribution (JED) Plc over unpaid bills. This sharp rise in costs was disclosed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Tanko Ishaya, during a peaceful protest led by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the institution.

Prof. Ishaya revealed that the university’s electricity costs have skyrocketed from a manageable N20-30 million to an unmanageable N80 million due to recent tariff hikes, particularly affecting Band A consumers, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. He emphasized the severe financial strain this increase places on the university, noting that the monthly allocation from the government is grossly insufficient to cover the new electricity expenses.

“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 indicated 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.

About two months ago, the federal government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), had approved a hike in the electricity rates for consumers categorized under Band A. The Vice Chairman of NERC, Musliu Oseni, stated in a press release that the tariff hike would result in customers paying N225 per kilowatt hour, up from the existing N66.

However, NERC reduced the exchange rate for calculating the current electricity tariff for Band A customers by 16.03%, from N1,463.3/$ to N1,277.8 from May to December 2024. This adjustment was revealed in the commission’s Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) for May to December 2024, following the appreciation of the naira in the foreign exchange market over the last month.

The University of Jos now faces a pressing challenge to secure sufficient funds to cover the increased electricity costs and avoid potential disconnection, which would severely impact its operations and the welfare of its students and staff.