Study of energy conservation and carbon emission in telecommunications sector in India

Abstract

Energy costs account a significant part of telecom operators’ operating expenses, the energy conservation measures are not only good for the environment; they also make commercial sense for operators and support sustainable, profitable business. In view of frequent rise in power tariff and diesel price , controlling the energy cost is a major concern of the telecom operators . In general, adoption of energy efficiency measures result in reduction of carbon footprint and cost saving. Indian telecom sector is growing at an exponential rate. With expansion of the telecom networks in no or poor grid areas, the industry has to use the diesel generators to power the networks. The carbon emission associated with energy use in Indian telecom sector is reported to be high as compared with world. Energy efficiency researches in India are confined to energy intensive industries like Cement, Steel and Fertilizers etc. Researchers did not take notice of the increasing energy requirement of the telecom networks. Research studies have been carried out in various countries to find out the share of telecom networks in national electricity consumption. In India, there is no estimate of electricity demand of telecom networks. In spite of consumption of billions of liters of diesel by the Indian telecom operators, there is no authentic estimation for the same. Moreover, use of diesel by Indian telecom industry is contributing to India’s GHG inventory. There is lack of understanding of suitable fuel switching option for telecom sector.