Alex Ekwueme Varsity Teaching Hospital Decries ‘Outrageous’ Electricity Bills

The management of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA), has expressed sadness over outrageous electricity bills issued to the hospital by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).

The hospital described the bills as excessive, unjustifiable and unsustainable and warned that such billing could cripple the activities of the hospital and affects its essential service healthcare delivery.

The chief medical director (CMD), of the hospital, Prof. Robinson Onoh represented by the director of Administration, Calistus Azubike Okonkwo, disclosed that the hospital was served with an electricity bill of N107 million for December 2025 alone, describing the amount as unprecedented for a public tertiary health institution.

“This represents an outrageous, unjustifiable and unsustainable escalation in electricity charges and poses a grave threat to the sustainability of essential healthcare services provided by the hospital,” the management stated.

A review of our electricity bills over the past 12 months revealed a disturbing upward trend, rising from N26.5 million in January to N71.5 million in November, before surging to N107 million in December. It is grossly disproportionate and difficult to justify.”

“In 2023 and 2024, the hospital’s monthly electricity bills were consistently below N20 million. Despite the steady rise in tariffs, we had continued to meet our obligations in good faith to ensure uninterrupted patient care.

This December bill has pushed us to the brink. “If this trend continues unchecked, AE-FUTHA risks paying over N1 billion annually on electricity bills alone, which is clearly unsustainable for a public tertiary health institution,” the statement read.

AE-FUTHA also raised concerns over the billing methodology, particularly the high charges associated with unmetered accounts, and demanded an urgent review of EEDC’s billing system.

“The magnitude of the December bill raises serious questions about the accuracy and transparency of the billing, especially as hospital activities were significantly reduced during the period,” management said.
“Services was largely scaled down following industrial actions by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), which paralysed many departments and reduced overall energy consumption.

“Surprisingly, despite this marked reduction in hospital activities, our electricity bill jumped from N71.5 million in November to N107 million in December,”.

“AEFUTHA is a life-saving institution that must operate round the clock. This is a critical facilities. We have intensive care units, neonatal units, operating theatres, laboratories and diagnostic services. Any disruption in power supply or financial strangulation caused by excessive billing directly endangers the lives of people.