The Indian telecom sector’s energy demand is estimated to be about 25 billion kWh per annum. In fact, the sector is the largest consumer of diesel in the country, using over 2 billion litres of fuel each year. This has increased the cost of operating telecom networks. It is estimated that about 50 per cent of a telecom tower company’s opex comprises energy-related expenses.

As operators expand their networks to small towns and rural areas, the energy demand is likely to grow further. Increasing grid power tariffs and diesel prices will impact the already falling margins of operators and tower companies. The importance of energy management will increase as operators roll out infrastructure to support new technologies like 4G and BWA.

Telecom companies have, therefore, started working on their energy cost reduction strategies. New alternative energy solutions and renewable power solutions like solar and hybrid models are being deployed, albeit on a small scale. Similarly, tower companies, which are the highest consumers of power in the sector, are also investing in real-time monitoring systems to control diesel and power wastage at telecom sites.

However, a bigger impact on the efficient use of power and carbon emission reduction will be realised only with a strong government push. While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s recommendations on the “Approach towards Green Telecommunications” is a small step in this direction, a more proactive and holistic approach to energy management is the need of the hour.

The mission of this conference, therefore, is to examine the energy needs of the telecom sector, identify the issues and challenges faced by various stakeholders and discuss the strategies and solutions to address them.

It is the third annual conference on the subject. Key sessions of the conference include –Key Trends and Outlook; Industry Perspective; Regulator/Government Perspective; Fuel Outlook: Demand, Supply and Price; DG Sets: Issues, Demands and Outlook; Energy Storage Solutions; Managing Cost of Energy: Strategies; Remote Site Management; Trends in Grid Power Availability and Tariffs; Focus on Renewable Energy; Focus on Hybrid Solutions and CDM Benefits For Using Renewable Energy.

Presenting or participating in panel discussions at the conference are speakers N. Ravi Shanker, Administrator, USO Fund; Rajkumar Upadhyay, Adviser, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India; B.S. Shantharaju, CEO, Indus Towers; Naresh Ajwani, Chief, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Viom Networks; Shyam Iyer, Vice-President, Operations and Maintenance, American Tower Company; Sai Ram Prasad, Chief Technology Officer, Bharti Infratel; Sabyasachi Majumdar, Head, Power Sector Ratings, ICRA; Sharat Chandra, Managing Director, TelEnergy Technologies; Swatantra Kumar, Director, Abhitech Energycon; M.G. Dave, Consultant, Energy Efficiency, Dalkia Energy Services; Rattan Kumar, Vice-President, Energy Management Services, ACME Tele Power; Dr Satish Kumar, Energy Efficiency Ambassador and Vice President, Energy Management Services, Schneider Electric,  Power Asia Pacific, India; Nilakantha Rath, Director, Business Development, Telecom Site Solution, Delta Power Solutions (India); Ankur Lal, Chief Executive Officer, Infozech Software; K.C. Panigrahy, Head, Operations-URJAH, Air Liquide India; Anmol Jaggi, Director, Gensol Consultants; Rajiv Garg, Business Head, Telecom, Moser Baer; Manoj Kumar Singh, Vice-President, Energy Management and Technology, Indus Towers, amongst others.