Strategies for Telecom Companies to Reduce Energy Expenses
With 330,000 telecom towers operational across the country, the telecom sector is one of the key consumers of power. The energy consumed by core network equipment , power systems , switching/site offices , data centres and equipment like mobiles terminals account for large proportion of the total energy consumed .
However, given the insufficient availability of grid power in India, Diesel power generators remain the Mainstay of telecom towers for providing back up power. According to industry estimates today, about 50% of the sectors power needs are met by grid supply, with the balance being met by DGs. Given the high cost of diesel and challenges associated with diesel uses, energy cost accounts for significant proportion (25040 %) of telecom operator’s operational expenditure (OPEX). The problem is more prevalent in rural regions where the grid fails to reach the majority of villages. Power outages are detrimental to operators business as they result in increased costs, network downtime and poor services quality. In several remote regions of India, energy related expenses account nearly 75% of the network opex .
In the market where margins are extremely thin due to high competition in tariffs, it has become imperative for operators to look at all possible options for cutting costs. Power costs (including Backup power) being a significant proportion of their expenditure, operators are exploring all possible options to reduce the dependence on diesel and opting for greener technologies like SOLAR, wind and bio fuels.
Energy needs of the telecom sectors
The telecom industry’s power needs include AC power for multi – service operators, data centres and disaster recovery sites , and DC power for Base Transceiver Stations ( BTS) and batteries . However power needs vary among service operators. For instance, while in the case of fixed line service providers, the main switch centre (MSC) consumes a lot of power and needs precision air – conditioning, in the case of mobile services, BTSs account for a large proportion of the power consumption because they cater to large number of peoples , often over 250,000 thus requiring about 3,750 MW of power .
For mature operators, power and fuel are estimated to account for about 26% of the company’s overall network operating costs , making them the 2nd biggest cost component after rent . As per industry experts total power requirements of the telecom sector at over 4500 MW.
ReplyDeleteThe primary power consumers at cell site are BTSs , microwave radio equipments , switches , trans receivers , antennas and air-conditioning systems . Each tower consumes 3-5kwh of power to run the air conditioners and other telecom tower equipments required to keep the BTS in operations. The power requirement of BTS varies from 1.5-2,5 kwh. Air conditioners and BTSs consume 70-90 % of Diesel Generators capacity.
In terms of cost per site , on an average , the total power and fuel cost constitute more than 50% of cell site opex . However, this can go up to 80%in rural regions due to unavailability of grid power. The expenditure on power and fuel varies, depending on whether grid power is available or whether a cell site is being powered by a DG set. These 2 components typically constitute around 66%and 34 % respectively of an operator’s energy bill, for a site where the power outage is for less than 6 hours.
The cost of power and fuel also depends on the tenancy of the tower. With each additional operators, the overall power requirement increase by 20 % , thus leading to economies of scale .
Solar power systems to power Mobile towers
ReplyDeleteIn a major development in application of renewable energy, Bangalore based Indo-Chinese joint venture ALTA-Xin Tong Solar Tech Pvt. Ltd is in advanced stages of finalizing a deal to sell 2,000 solar systems to power mobile phone towers in India under zero investment plan with various telcos. The deployment of these solar power systems would create job opportunities for more than 70,000 skilled and semi-skilled technicians in India.
ALTA-XinTong is a 65:35 joint venture between India’s ALTA Energy Technologies and China’s solar system solution provider XinTong.
There are an estimated 300,000 telecom sites in India, out of which over 30,000 are in off-grid rural locations. These off-grid sites are running on diesel 24 hours a day. An autonomous solar system will be ideal alternative to diesel generators as a power source. This will help operators avoid high transportation cost, diesel theft, and diesel generator maintenance cost, and overall costs will come down significantly if not drastically.
As of now, around 9,000 cell phone towers in China are being powered by XinTong’s solar power systems.
The company will set up a demonstration unit and prove the savings that the tower operator will make. “The primary condition for us to set up the demonstration unit is that once we show the savings, the operator has to place a minimum order for 100 units”, a company official reported.
On the logic of compelling the company to place an order for minimum quantity, it costs around Rs.2.7 million to set up one demonstration unit.
The company sources solar panels and batteries from Indian sources and imports controls from China.