As many as 25 renewable energy service companies (RESCOS) have been shortlisted by the Tower and Infrastructure Providers? Association (TAIPA) for supplying power to telecom towers.
Earlier, TAIPA had invited bids from private green power companies to generate and supply off-grid power to telecom towers in the country.
As per TAIPA?s proposals, the RESCOS will be required to set up renewable energy-based power plants near the telecom towers sites and sell power to telecom infrastructure companies at a predetermined cost on a pay per use model.
The power generated by the RESCOS will be off-grid. However, the additional power generated by them can also be sold to commercial users inhabiting the areas surrounding the power plants.
TAIPA reached out to RESCOS in the wake of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India?s recent directives that mandates that the part of the power used by service providers for the towers comes from renewable sources. As per the TRAI directive, service providers have to power 50 per cent of telecom towers in rural areas and 20 per cent of towers in urban areas using hybrid energy sources by 2015. These directives are aimed at reducing telecom towers dependence on diesel as a fuel.
