Naveed Irshad
Manager Site Design & Power Planning
Network Planning and Roll out Department, Telenor Pakistan
Muhammad Saqlain
Power Planning Specialist
Network Planning and Roll out Department, Telenor Pakistan
Telenor Pakistan: Energy Transformation on the Legacy Network
Energy efficiency is a critical requirement of all business units owing to increasing equipment loads with the evolution of new technologies, and the ever-rising price of electricity and fuel. For businesses operating in South Asian countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, the unavailability of grid power is a significant concern and challenge.
Telenor Pakistan is a 100% owned business unit of the Telenor Group, and it has a footprint spanning throughout the country with a network of more than ~11,500 sites. Having a subscriber base of over 44.7 Million, it is the second-largest mobile operator in Pakistan.
This case study focuses on the achievements by Telenor Pakistan in the transformation of their Legacy energy network in response to the challenges and threats due to the hostile energy environment in Pakistan. A 5 point energy management program (EMP) was established which not only addressed the challenges but also provided the opportunity to operate in a cleaner and greener energy environment along with substantial reducing the operational cost.
During this journey of transformation, Telenor Pakistan was also categorised as one of the best-in-class by GSMA in Mobile Energy Efficiency country (for Pakistan) benchmarking for 2014. Telenor’s flagship program started with converting the threat of grid outages into an opportunity for making a transition to Greener Network Operations. It created a massive impact not only in company energy footprint reduction but on the environment and ecosystem of Pakistan as well.
The program, from its inception to date, has reduced the fuel consumption and diesel carbon emissions of Telenor Pakistan by 67%. The impact denoted a saving of 2,360,000 trees every year. This was achieved, despite the energy crisis worsening in the country and the equipment load, which increased more than 100% as of result of 3G and 4G layer upgrade. Also, the program has reduced to-date, the energy spending of Telenor by 49% over the same period. Telenor Pakistan has done it, and we urge other operators to follow the footsteps.
The GSM Association (“Association”) makes no representation, warranty or undertaking (express or implied) with respect to and does not accept any responsibility for, and hereby disclaims liability for the accuracy or completeness or timeliness of the information contained in this document.