>
By Emmanuel Adeleke
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has concluded arrangements to host an event to commemorate the 2023 World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) in Abuja, with spotlight on its regulatory initiatives on clean energy usage in the telecoms sector.
In what has become a tradition at the commission since 2017, when it honoured telecoms consumers by connecting with the global theme to celebrate the day with landmark activities, the commission has continued to promote consumer protection and enlightenment.
The theme of the 2023 edition of the WCRD is: “Empowering Consumers through Clean Energy Transitions.”
According to NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the theme provides opportunity for NCC to share with beloved telecoms consumers and other stakeholders, as well as the public, the policies it has instituted, and other actions taken to encourage operators in the sector to transition to environmentally friendly and renewable energy sources in their operations.
Danbatta, who was represented at the inauguration of the event’s organising committee by the commission’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Barrister Adeleke, said the commission is committed to reducing the impact that telecommunications operation has on climate change and the environment while noting that the peculiarities of Nigeria’s electricity supply have resulted in the telecommunications sector being a contributor to carbon emissions.
He explained that studies have shown that renewables and energy efficiency, boosted by substantial electrification, can provide over 90 per cent of the necessary reductions in energy-related carbon emissions.
He further said increasing the use of electricity sourced from renewables presents the best opportunity to accelerate world’s energy transformation.
“The theme is very apt this year, as we know the implication of the climate change disaster facing the world. So, as a commission, we are committed to reducing the impact of climate change. The telecoms sector contributes to global emissions, particularly when you realize that there are over 54,000 base transmitter stations powered, in some cases 24 hours seven days a week, by generators. You can just imagine the emissions from these,” Danbatta said.
The EVC explained that the commission was already looking at introducing a policy to encourage ethical energy source, as part of the commission’s commitment to safeguarding the environment for consumers and other users of telecoms services, a move that is also in tandem with the process of actualising some of the key items of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He further stated that, in recent years, the commission has introduced a regulatory framework on infrastructure sharing and collocation among the licensees which, he said, has encouraged operators to fully maximise their already-deployed infrastructure.
“By sharing infrastructure, some operators do not need to entirely build a telecoms site in an area where another operator had deployed one. With the challenge of inadequate public electricity supply in Nigeria, telecoms companies rely on diesel-powered generators to keep their sites live round-the-clock. But a regulatory framework such as infrastructure sharing and collocation is helping in this regard,” the EVC said.