Safaricom - 2020 Sustainable Business Report

49 INTRODUCTION OUR BUSINESS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS OUR STAKEHOLDERS CONCLUDING REMARKS The sources are supplier monthly fuelling data and KPLC bills. Solar energy is only measured at some sites, as such we have extrapolated the solar data to the other sites. Energy mix influences the cost. As the graph above shows, we have steadily reduced the cost of energy consumption by site. During the year, we reduced our cost of energy consumption by site by a further KSh 341 to KSh 46 308 per month. The main reason for this improvement is a decrease in generator running times, which has resulted in less diesel being consumed. This has been achieved by increasing in the number of sites with deep cycle batteries, continued indoor-to-outdoor site conversions, the installation of highly efficient rectifiers and inverter-based air-conditioning units, and through strict adherence to the fuelling process. Energy efficiency initiatives FY20 FY19 FY18 FY17 Sites fitted with deep cycle batteries 300 193 240 293 Sites converted from indoor to outdoor 7 18 25 0 Sites fitted with low-voltage auxiliary power supply units 55 55 115 85 Sites fitted with free cooling units 88 88 92 0 Energy sources Our network uses a variety of energy sources, including national grid, diesel generator, deep cycle battery and renewable energy (solar) solutions. The mix of energy sources impacts our energy efficiency and energy consumption patterns. Our focus remains on phasing out the use of diesel generators wherever possible, either by ensuring that national grid energy (which is cheaper and cleaner) is available at a site or by employing alternative energy solutions. We continue to prioritise the use of national grid energy at our larger sites (which provide critical coverage) and renewable energy-based solutions at our smaller sites (which provide additional capacity). We are committed to promoting alternative clean energy sources across the network. As indicated in the preceding tables, we have been deploying and repairing solar sites and focused on connecting sites to the national grid, but in areas where the grid is unstable, we provision generators to ensure network availability and power redundancies. We minimise generator running times by installing deep cycle batteries. During the year, we continued to expand the network into areas outside the national grid and that lack reliable renewable sources of power, which resulted in the number of sites running diesel generators 24/7 increasing from 106 to 173. Network energy sources by site (% contribution to total energy) FY19 FY18 FY17 FY20 * Kenya Power (national grid supply) Network energy sources by site (total at year end) FY20 FY19 FY18 FY17 KP* and genset 4 775 4 060 3 755 3 623 KP* (no generator) 948 1 269 705 688 24/7 diesel generator 173 106 78 191 Solar or wind and hybrid solutions 221 196 155 133 KP & Genset KP (no generator) Diesel generator Solar/Wind hybrid