The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has disconnected power to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) due to alleged unpaid electricity bills of over N300 million.
The university management disclosed the disconnection in a statement on Wednesday.
UNILAG has been struggling with increasing electricity costs, which worsened when EKEDC upgraded the university’s tariff from “Band B” to “Band A.”
This tariff change caused the monthly electricity bill to surge from between N150 million and N180 million to nearly N300 million, marking a 100% increase.
The management further explained that despite ongoing negotiations with EKEDC and a recent payment of N180 million on August 20, the university was abruptly disconnected from the power supply on August 27 without prior notice.
The statement reads: “Just two weeks after our meeting, we were hit with a staggering bill of nearly half a billion naira (N472 million) for July, further increasing our debt burden!
“We kept our promise and paid N180 million on August 20, yet on August 27, EKEDC disconnected us without notice and has refused to reconnect the university to the national grid”.
Management further assured the university community that efforts were to resolve the issue with EKEDC and called for calm, even as it said that power supply across the campus would be rationed until further notice.