© JUL 2021 | IRE Journals | Volume 5 Issue 1 | ISSN: 2456-8880
IRE 1702871 ICONIC RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING JOURNALS 361
Improvement Of Electric Power Supply to A Typical
MTN Base Transceiver Station in Nigerian City.
ABAM, INNOCENT SIMEON
1
, D. C. IDONIBOYEOBU
2
, S. L BRAIDE
3
, B. J. LUCKYN
4
1, 2, 3, 4
Electrical/ Electronic Department, Faculty of Engineering, Rivers State University
Abstract- This study is focused on solving the
problem of unreliable and inadequate power supply
to reduce downtime, environmental pollution,
operational and maintenance cost in our
telecommunication industries. The aim of this study
is to improved power supply to MTN Base
Transceiver Station (BTS) site at T0188, Chinda
Estate, Nkpolu, Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt. Using
the relevant data collected from the Base Transceiver
Station site, a simple algebraic and optimization
methods were used to achieve the mathematical mode
of the hybrid system. The results showed that the
simulation executed for BTS site with a geographical
location of (′′ . .2°,
′′
. . ° ). The daily
energy consumption monitored and recorded is 480
kWh/day. The peak demand for site is approximately
20kW. The economic comparison of the existing
system to the proposed hybrid system configuration
shows that the proposed hybrid design can be
deduced to obtain a level cost of energy at
N76.92/kWh with a net present cost of
N175,068,300.00. The application of hybrid
optimization model for energy renewable (HOLMER
PRO with version 3.11.2) Software for simulation is
adopted. The determination of the
telecommunication industries in developing
countries such as Nigeria, is to achieve its
connectivity demand and for such to happen the
network operators, will depend on the utility grid for
a reliable and stable power supply. However, due to
inadequate and unreliable power supply from the
national grid, the customers expresses poor quality
network service. It is recommended that the
introduction of hybrid system in our
telecommunication industries will led to a reduction
of Operational Expenditure (OPEX). An improved
power availability will reduce the incident of
environmental pollution such as noise pollution,
diesel spillage, etc. Thereby, achieving a greener
operation.
Indexed Terms- Power Supply, Base Transceiver
Station (BTS), Maintenance cost,
I. INTRODUCTION
Nigeria has been experiencing an extreme electricity
shortage for over two decades. Only about 40% of
Nigerians are connected to the national electric power
network (utility grid [22]. In addition, the utility grid
is characterized by high unreliability index. The power
supply reliability varies from 39 to 66 % with an
average duration of power access between two power
outages of 4.5 hours per day. At any period when grid
power is available, the supply voltage fluctuates
mostly between 160V and 205V [26]. The inadequacy
of the utility grid has consistently led to load shedding,
with adverse effects on domestic, commercial and
industrial activities [23]. As a result, most
entrepreneurs have resorted to using fossil-powered
sources.
The operation and maintenance of diesel generators
accounts for about 78% of the total cost of operations
of the GSM BTS sites [1]. Consequently, the use of
fossil-fuel generator as an alternative source of electric
power for GSM BTS sites increases the unit cost of
cellular mobile services in emerging cities. Besides,
the environmental consequences of harnessing and
utilizing fossil fuels are assuming alarming
proportions [18],[27], [24]. Power supply is one of the
critical challenges confronted by telecommunications
Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) operators in deplo-
ying their networks, this challenge is readily overcome
in developed countries as a result of up-to-date power
infrastructure. In the developing world, where a
national electricity grid exists, it is always the energy
solution of choice for powering Base Transceiver
Stations (BTSs). Unfortunately, it is not always
reliable and has limited coverage. MTN Nigeria, one
of the four mobile telecoms operators in Nigeria with
4,798 base stations, spends a whopping $82.8 million