The Federal Government plans to introduce electricity tariffs for 25 tertiary institutions and teaching hospitals benefiting from its completed renewable energy projects.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the unveiling of the state-owned Renewable Asset Management Company, RAMCO.

Tegbe said the tariffs would help the government sustain its renewable energy assets and ensure their continued operation.

“It is a new dawn. We are very good at building public assets but poor at sustaining them. RAMCO offers a different model to renewable energy. Nigeria has lived too long with embarrassing electricity.

“Some universities came to me on a courtesy visit to thank me after using free light for two years. I told them, thank you; the pro bono is over. We are coming to commission, and you will pay tariff. The same thing with teaching hospitals,” he said.

The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, Abba Aliyu, also supported the proposed tariff regime, saying beneficiary institutions should contribute to the maintenance of the assets.

Aliyu said the Federal Government, through the REA, had deployed 82 megawatts of solar hybrid generation across 22 federal universities and three teaching hospitals under its Energising Education Programme since 2017.

He said the government needed to recover part of its investment through electricity tariffs to sustain the projects.

“Government has funded this asset. REA has built them. Beneficiary institutions must contribute to sustaining them by paying for the electricity they consume,” he said.

Among the institutions benefiting from the renewable energy projects are Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and the Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, as well as three teaching hospitals.

The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, and the Minister of State for Health, Dr Iziaq Adekunle Salako, were among dignitaries present at the event.