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Despite the peaking energy crisis, the South African government has revoked the national state of disaster and pledged that it would be working towards reducing the impacts of the power cuts within the purview of already existing regulations.
Despite the peaking energy crisis, the South African government has revoked the national state of disaster and pledged that it would be working towards reducing the impacts of the power cuts within the purview of already existing regulations.
Telecom has been one of the most affected sectors in the midst of the excruciating energy crisis. Their representatives said that the cost of maintaining the network has gone up through the roof while tapping alternative sources of energy like solar and windmills. Major telecom companies like MTN, Telkom, and Vodacom are spending millions to install solar panels, batteries, and wind turbines as backups when grid supplies fail.
MTN sources point out that the company spent close to US$ 36 million in the past year to overcome the difficulties encountered during the power cuts, causing severe strains in the financial position of the company. Telekom, the other company having one of the largest networks, has spent over 150 million rands, as an additional cost in the last quarter of 2022 to maintain the network without any faults. Network towers, which need an uninterrupted supply of power throughout are normally equipped with backup batteries. But large networks like that of MTN, having over 12,900 towers have diesel generators, numbering over 3000, and solar panels in a few pilot sites as power backups, which entail a heavy operational cost. The additional cost to be incurred by the telecom companies affects their bottom lines.
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Also, these additional costs incurred to keep the network ticking have affected their modernization and expansion plans. These telecom majors have drawn up plans to roll out 5G, which entail additional cost. Also, according to the government regulations set out during the power crisis, telecom companies are required to share power infrastructure with their competitors. According to a recent estimate, the power crisis has resulted in pulling down the economic growth by 2 percentage points, resulting in a huge loss to the country.
