As load shedding escalates across the country, MTN South Africa says it is working around the clock to protect customers\u2019 connectivity, with an aggressive rollout of batteries, generators, and alternate power supplies.<\/p>\n
It said that advanced load shedding, however, is putting strain on its ability to recharge its batteries. As a result, the group said it is reaching out to small businesses to supply generators for its operations.<\/p>\n
Charles Molapisi, MTN SA CEO, said MTN\u2019s priority is keeping its customers connected and to this end, the company is exploring practical and innovative solutions to the power crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no doubt the country is facing a power crisis but at MTN, we want to turn this crisis into an opportunity for small businesses by \u2018crowd sourcing\u2019 generators to further support our network,\u201d Molapisi said.<\/p>\n
MTN is inviting all businesses that are in possession of generators, to become potential suppliers to MTN. “Whether the business has two or 20 generators, MTN is looking to partner,” it said.<\/p>\n
Michele Gamberini, chief technology and information officer at MTN SA said increased load shedding is a challenge for battery recharging.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite us having placed thousands of batteries at our sites across the country, the efficacy of those batteries greatly reduces once we pass stage 4 load shedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gamberini said MTN has upgraded its battery backup solutions on over 80% of the sites already this year and is currently deploying more additional batteries. However, MTN is still faced with the challenge that the current outage schedule does not allow enough time for batteries to charge.<\/p>\n
“Battery back-up systems generally take 12-18 hours to recharge, while batteries have a capacity of about 6-12 hours, depending on the site category.\u00a0 Consistent outages therefore have a direct impact on the performance of the batteries, while consistent theft of the batteries themselves means replacements need to be installed,\u201d Gamberini said.<\/p>\n
In addition to the battery rollout, MTN has also deployed over 2,000 generators to counter the impact of stage 4 (and higher) load shedding. MTN is currently using more than 400,000 litres of fuel per month, to keep these generators operational.<\/p>\n
The operator said it has put power contingencies in place in all provinces. Some of these interventions are:<\/p>\n
\u201cTo mitigate the risks, we have embarked on several emergency initiatives to ensure higher network resilience, despite the obstacles. We want to assure our customers that we are doing all we can to maintain connectivity during this challenging time,\u201d said Gamberini.<\/p>\n