With load-shedding becoming increasingly frequent and as the country felt the debilitating effects of stage 6 last week for the first time since 2019, SA’s mobile operators are putting alternative plans in place to keep their operations running,
The big players are beginning to roll out more batteries, generators and other power supplies to keep network connections uninterrupted. This will ultimately mean delivering services at a higher cost.
While mobile customers have in previous years grown used to increasingly worse cellphone reception during power outages, operators have been working to reduce such disruptions in favour of consistent connectivity. Operators have realised the opportunity that comes from load-shedding, as it usually means those who have fibre or other fixed connectivity turn to mobile data services during power disruptions.
Unlike stages 1 and 2, which the country has become accustomed to, SA’s mobile networks say stage 4 has meant backup power sources are less reliable in keeping voice and data services going. That is made worse by stage 6.
In stage 1 of rolling blackouts, power utility Eskom removes 1,000MW from the national grid, while in stage 2 that increases to 2,000MW. At stage 6, which would generally leave customers without power for half a day, 6,000MW is cut.
Due to the growing uncertainty about power supply, MTN says it has deployed more than 2,000 additional generators to counter the effects of stage 4 and higher load-shedding. SA’s second-largest mobile provider says it is using more than 400,000 litres of fuel a month to keep these generators operational.
This is all taking place in an environment of higher fuel prices and other general price increases, driven by global supply-chain challenges and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Circumstances are no better for SA’s largest operator, Vodacom. CEO Shameel Joosub described the situation as “deeply frustrating” on a recent investor call.
“We’re having to spend capex on things that we wouldn’t have had to spend capex on before,” he said, explaining that the company had forked out R1.7bn on batteries over the past two years.
The latest load-shedding regime does not leave enough time for batteries to fully charge between outages.
“Despite 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,” said Michele Gamberini, chief technology and information officer at MTN SA.
He said MTN has upgraded batteries at more than 80% of its sites this year, with plans for more.
These backup systems generally take 12-18 hours to recharge, while batteries have a capacity of about six to 12 hours, depending on the site. “Consistent outages therefore have a direct effect on the performance of the batteries, while consistent theft of the batteries themselves means replacements need to be installed,” Gamberini says.
His comments highlight another additional cost of load-shedding, which is the extra on-site security that is needed to protect the batteries, generators and general site equipment from thieves and vandalism.
Solar-powered sites
Despite its devastation, load-shedding has had some positive effects.
Vodacom installed new solar-powered sites in Polokwane, Vereeniging and Bloemfontein in 2021 as part of an effort to reduce reliance on Eskom and pressure on its batteries that add to the national push for more renewable energy sources.
MTN, which is searching high and low for generators, has expanded its buying from small businesses, inviting “all businesses that are in possession of generators” to become suppliers.
“We want to turn this crisis into an opportunity for small businesses by ‘crowd sourcing’ generators to further support our network,” said Charles Molapisi, MTN SA CEO.
While customers may appreciate remaining connected during load-shedding, eventually the operators will have to start passing these extra — and still rising — costs on, a move that will heap even more pressure on struggling consumers.
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