Airtel Nigeria moves to cut N28 billion monthly spending on diesel  

Telecommunications operator, Airtel Nigeria, said it is now deploying alternative solutions to power its base stations across the country as part of measures to cut the skyrocketing expenses on diesel, which stood at N28 billion per month. 

The Director of Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, Femi Adeniran, disclosed this during a media roundtable in Lagos on Tuesday.  

According to him, the company is now leveraging solar power and other renewable energy sources to power its over 15,000 base stations, which consume about 22 million litres of diesel every month.  

Recall that the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), had also last year announced that it was working towards ensuring a complete move to alternative energy sources by all players in the telecom industry. 

Going green  

Aside from the need to cut expenses to adjust to current economic realities, Adeniran said the switch to solar was also part of the company’s moves to go green.  

“We are committed to minimizing our carbon footprint. Our transition to grid and solar power will significantly reduce diesel consumption and mitigate the impacts of climate change in Nigeria,” he said. 

• Also speaking, Airtel Nigeria’s Chief Technical Officer, Mr Harmanpreet Dhillon, said the telco would be  Investing in Lithium-ion batteries rather than traditional batteries, which helps break down the carbon footprint. 

• Dhillon said that apart from reducing their carbon footprint, the telco was also adopting outdoor-operable electronics/ telecom equipment. 

“These devices can withstand extreme temperatures, humidity, and dust, eliminating the need for indoor air-conditioned spaces. 

“The traditional equipment used to be very sensitive to temperature, high temperatures, for which you require an indoor room and air conditioning, which again increases your energy consumption.  

“Now we are buying equipment which can operate in any environment, hence the power consumption goes down and doesn’t require high kilowatt consumption,” he said. 

What you should know 

Airtel’s move into renewable energy reflects the current sentiment in the Nigerian telecom market as operators seek ways to cut their costs. 

Speaking last Saturday during the Nairametrics webinar, which spotlighted the telecom industry, the Senior Manager of Growth New Business Tech Platforms IT at MTN Nigeria, also echoed the same sentiment saying that Nigerian telcos are increasingly looking to solar and wind power to reduce their dependence on expensive diesel and petrol. 

“Powering terrestrial networks with diesel and petrol is very expensive, which is why telcos are exploring renewable energy options,” he stated. 

By shifting to renewable sources, operators can significantly lower operational costs, especially in powering their network towers.