OAU to go off national grid by October ending – VC

ILE-IFE, Nigeria – The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State may go off the national grid by October ending. This is due to the effort the school is making towards generating its own electricity.

The school hopes to complete the plant by October and it will run 24 hours daily, the Vice Chancellor of the school, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede has said.

Ogundede said because of the fast pace of the work, the project will be delivered by October ending. “We are now very sure that by October end, the university will be generating its own electricity.

“What that means is that we will be off the national grid,” he said, during the biennial conference of the African Institute for Science Policy and Innovation held at OAU.

The Vice-Chancellor said the project, which started in 2017, would be ready by the end of October. He revealed that the institution was working with the Rural Electrification Agency under the Federal Government’s Energizing Education Project (EEP) in Universities to provide a gas-powered turbine which would generate 8.0 megawatts of electricity for the institution.

Ogunbodede stated further that by the time the project is delivered, the University would be saving between N35 million and N65 million in energy cost monthly.

He noted that the University’s daily energy need was below six megawatts, adding that the plant would also power the institution’s teaching hospital while the institution’s neighboring communities would also benefit from the excess energy that the plant would generate.

 “We will be generating our own electricity on campus and will no longer be depending on the national grid. OAU will enjoy 24-hour power supply and that is exciting. It will enhance our research output among other developments”. “We will also have our dam. It is currently being renovated. We will be generating our own water and our own electricity,” he said.