The Office of Public Utilities (OPU) in Ondo State has said the 23 General Hospitals across the State will be fully energised with solar power to further enhance their services effectively and efficiently.
Administrative Secretary of the OPU, Princess Abike Bayo-Ilawole stated this during an interactive meeting on alternative energy sources for state hospitals.
The meeting, which was held on Monday in Akure, had the heads of the General Hospitals and other major stakeholders in attendance.
“The Office of Public Utilities observed, as we navigate through a period of fuel subsidy removal, that it is imperative for us to explore alternative energy solutions that align with sustainability and cost-effectiveness. One of such solution is the adoption of Solar Power System in this post fuel subsidy removal era. The State Government would like to take advantage of available resources (both human and material) to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal on the functionality of the state’s health facilities.”
From the interactive meeting with the Administrators of the State Hospitals, the OPU discovered that some state hospitals owned non-functional solar power systems that were in need of major repairs and upgrades. While a few others do not possess any solar energy system.
“Considering the means of electricity generation in those facilities and the ease of operation, we observed that many hospitals do not have light, especially at night, and even during daytime. A lot of medical equipment do not operate properly and their functionality is hampered because of the insufficient energy available to operate them. It is for these reasons that we saw the need to collaborate with the Hospitals Management Board since we have the technical know-how to ameliorate these problems,” she stated.
The OPU Administrative Secretary also added that the Hospitals Management Board (HMB) should be able to afford the cost of maintenance of renewable energy to the health facilities.
Also speaking at the meeting, Dr. Adiji Ojo, the Administrative Secretary, Ondo State Hospitals Management Board (HMB) described the initiative as a superb one, assuring that the government hospitals would surely get on board.
According to him, with the help of the State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the public health facilities in the state will wholly embrace the move.
