How TTSL saved Rs 98cr and 80,000 tCO2e carbon savings?

MUMBAI, INDIA: Tata Teleservices launched Project Optimus in 2010 to optimize its network operation cost and reduce carbon footprint. Saji Mathew, Head, Network Implementation, Infrastructure Management and Vice President, Tata Teleservices (TTSL), in an honest and free-wheeling interview tells us all.

Please give a brief on Project Optimus.
A cross functional team called the Applied Research Team was formed to work on various areas to reduce the operational expenses of the network. This team was responsible for working closely with vendors, developing customized solutions, carrying out proof of concept implementations (prototype and pilot projects) and developing models for rollouts and monitoring implementation.

As part of this initiative, the team devised solutions that helped Tata Teleservices achieve an annualized OPEX savings of Rs 98 crore and annualized carbon savings to the tune of 80,000 tCO2e(Tonnes of CO2e).

Overall, Project Optimus was born out of the desire to have a positive and growing impact on environment with intent to reduce the Op-expenses and carbon foot print of the company. We realized that a majority of what we intended to achieve could be achieved with control of diesel consumption.

Can you elaborate on the processes evolved?
Tata Teleservices covers the entire country though mobile sites or towers of different operators. The network energy cost of these towers is one of the major components amounting to about 30 percent of the total network cost.

Energy cost consists of two components-electricity charges of grid power and diesel consumption for running the diesel generator (DG) set when there is no grid power. The cost of running a DG is much higher plus the energy costs depends on many parameters including but not limited to the type and power consumption of the electronics, the number of tenants at the site, the efficiencies of the passive infrastructure elements, the telecom equipment like indoor (ID) or outdoor type (OD), the quality and availability of grid power, the available battery back-up hours, the ambient temperature, per KWH grid unit rate and the diesel per liter rate.

A few institutionalized initiatives implemented under Project Optimus 2 are:
• Elimination of air conditioning and power consumption reduction

• Outdoor conversion of BTS

• Free cooling units (FCU)

• Solar hybrid system for BTS-solar-batter-DG hybrid system

• Wheeling of renewable energy-wind and solar power and

• Wheeling for data centers

Through this initiative, TTSL was able to reduce grid power consumption of 53,066 MWh and diesel consumption by 12725 KL leading to an overall carbon footprint reduction of over 78874 TCO2.

The company deployed a mix of innovative solutions which included housing indoor equipment in outdoor cabinets and using outside climate to effect the cooling process; thus completely eliminating the requirement – the cost and environmental impact – for air conditioning.

What were the challenges?
The challenge was how to improvise existing product considering the changing telecom technical-commercial requirements.

Some of the other challenges included:

• 30 percent of OPEX is energy (diesel - 52 percent)
• Network performance deterioration due to high diesel usage
• Environmental impact due to high power and diesel usage
• Economical impact of forex and fuel imports
• Space availability for indoor to outdoor conversion
• Limited options available for operators at distributed IP controlled tower sites
• Criticality of equipment inside the shelter
• Disputes and governance issues
• Landlord and infrastructure (IP) operator permissions

What were the tangible benefits?
Once the outdoor conversion of existing indoor base station gets converted to outdoor base station, it eliminates the air conditioning requirement which benefited the stake holders.

For instance, the indoor to outdoor BTS Conversion–OD Cabinet + Free Cooling Units (FCU) - Estimated savings in grid- 53,066 MWH, diesel-6,597KL, leading to annualized reduction in CO2e emission-62,453TCO2e, which directly benefitted the company.

Also with solar alternate energy solution, the estimated savings of diesel was 257KL, annualized reduction in CO2e emission- 687TCO2e.

The initiative also benefitted the community at large. Running the DG set decreased air and noise pollution due to exhaust gases and issues related to diesel pilferage, thereby reducing diesel consumption and carbon emissions, lowering forex impact.

Going forward...
In addition to Project Optimus, TTSL has been exploring new green initiatives to optimize consumption of energy from grid and DG sets and optimize network elements by increasing efficiency of operations.

It started a project with TICET team (Tata Teleservices IIT Bombay Centre for Excellence in Telecommunication) to design a scalable solution which could help achieve our green ambitions across our 40,000 BTS sites while meeting our financial goals.