POWER MANAGEMENT POLICY FOR LEBANESE TELECOM OPERATORS BASED ON RENEWABLE-ENERGY: A RESPONSE TO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

Overview & Synopsis

The current economic crisis in Lebanon, which started at the end of 2019, has been exacerbated by the significant devaluation of the Lebanese pound falling down to previously unseen levels and creating an acute burden on population as well as government institutions. Furthermore, COVID-19 pandemic has reached a peak in 2021 forcing the Lebanese government to order several lockdowns and establish online teaching for both scholar institutions and universities. This situation has pushed for higher internet data demand, which inevitably led to an increase in the telecom networks’ power consumption and operating expenditure. In addition, the recent reduction in electrical power production brought a serious concern as for the interruption of telecom services. In this paper, recommendations to design a power-supply management policy for Lebanese internet and mobile carriers in response to the aforementioned challenges are proposed. The proposed policy relies on the efficient and optimal use of renewable-energy (RE), and provides guidelines on Why, Where, What and to Which Extent RE equipment should be installed on sites to achieve a solution for an uninterrupted telecom service at the lowest cost possible. Some safety recommendations are also included.