Understand Your Power Costs To Minimise Total Cost Of Ownership

To win and retain customers, mobile network operators need to keep operating costs low so their prices remain competitive. One of the major costs they face is site power, especially in remote locations.

One of the best ways to reduce network power costs is through the use of a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model. This provides invaluable insight that helps you to understand, identify and reduce your power costs. For example, it can show you both the direct and indirect costs of the power network and the true lifetime cost and financial impact.

You can also add other expenses to these models such as sales costs for gaining and retaining customers. This can include items such as sales staff, media and digital advertising etc. If required, you can create an additional and separate TCO model for this part of your business.

The Controllis TCO model

Controllis, a leading global supplier of power solutions, has developed a detailed, configurable TCO model for power networks which has been independently tested by mobile operators. Our model compares both AC and DC generator deployments with different configurations. It also provides a wide range of local cost inputs to help you understand which technology is best for you.

For example, certain sites may be more cost effective running a single or sometimes dual DC generators; others may be more cost effective in hybrid operation with solar and renewable power contributions. Our TCO model takes all of this into account.

How our TCO model works

The model is remarkably simple to operate. You input local costs for Capital (CAPEX) and Operational (OPEX) Expenditure and the model presents the five-year TCO for the power network.

The process begins with country of deployment, delivered fuel costs, engineering and support costs, and existing AC generator site power costs.

We then look at battery bank expenses and the potential costs and capacities needed for any hybrid operation. We also consider local factors such as battery bank sizing, loading, depth of discharge preferences, battery cycle performance and anticipated lifetime (aiming for a five year battery life). We also analyse solar and other renewable inputs taking into account geographic and other local factors.

The next part of the model concerns fuel efficiency and performance under different conditions – for example, different generator configurations and whether solar energy input contributes to the system performance. We then consider local servicing and overhaul costs, amortised over the five-year TCO period.

What the TCO model shows you

 The model’s output shows five-year CAPEX and OPEX costs for AC vs DC generator deployments and for different configurations. You use this to understand and compare TCO costs for different types of generator and solar / renewable deployments.

The output is also shown graphically, and it is easy to identify how the TCO for AC generators compares to DC generators and / or hybrid systems over the five-year period for a specific operator.  

How to achieve the optimum TCO

We have developed this TCO model because we are committed to helping network operators develop a clear insight into the optimum configurations for their power networks.

Of course, part of our motivation is that we are confident about the performance of our own technology. For example, our ultra-efficient and highly reliable DC generator / hybrid power systems, combined with advanced system controllers and cloud-based remote management with analytics, provide unmatched performance.

Our solutions deliver vastly improved fuel economy (up to 90% in some cases) and so cut operating costs significantly. These TCO savings are directly measurable.

Our products also provide a wide range of additional benefits, such as improved network availability, reduced operation and maintenance costs, higher customer satisfaction and reduced carbon footprint. The end result is the optimum Total Cost of Ownership for your network.

If you would like to discuss our solutions, or take the TCO model for a test drive, please contact us. We would be happy to explain how everything works, and how we can help you to achieve reliable operational benefits and optimum TCO for your power network.