The Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (EgyptERA) has adopted a special power consumption calculation mechanism for telecommunications tower which are difficult to install consumption metres to them.
EgyptERA estimated the consumption of a single telecommunications tower at 3,500 kWh per month and 6,500 kWh per month for shared towers, taking into account the calculation of consumption cost according to the prices prescribed for the remaining subscribers of the low voltage 380 volts.
In accordance with the new decision, electricity distribution companies are preparing a register for the targeted telecommunications towers.
Telecommunications operators pay annual fees for electricity consumption at the current prices. They also provide the distribution companies with the addresses of their towers that are subject to the special accounting method and the coordinates of their location, whether these stations are used by a single company or shared amongst several.
The telecommunications companies will add any new towers to the register if it was difficult to install metres to them, on quarterly basis.
Any unregistered metreless tower shall be deemed illegal, and the owning company shall be subject to article 71 of the Electricity Law No. 87 for 2015.
Informed sources said that EgyptERA agreed to raise the limit of the contractual capacity on medium voltage with electricity distribution companies to 30MW from 20MW.
This decision comes in light of the development of distribution networks, and the expansion of the geographical scope of the distribution companies, the diversity of consumption patterns, technological development, and the increase in the number of consumers, and the consequent requests from contractors for medium voltage of 11 and 22 kV from distribution companies.
