Backup Power
Eric Dudek, Vice President, Network Operations | Kamran Taqui, Manager, Utilities Management | January 6, 2021
At American Tower, we are always looking ahead and preparing our Backup Power generators program for weather-related outages. Snow and ice can wreak havoc on power grids in the Northern part of the country, tropical storms and flooding can impact much of the South, and wildfires have become too frequent in the West. Our annual maintenance and storm preparedness protocol helps us maintain our strong performance of 99.99% availability year over year. No matter what type of weather is thrown at us, we keep networks up and running.
Maintaining fuel levels in generators is the most important—and sometimes most challenging—task during power outages. Developing a plan, ahead of a storm, and establishing permanent fueling partnerships help deliver peace of mind during severe weather events with outages that extend into days. As part of our program, we have developed strong relationships with leading fuel providers and a proven methodology to work together, ensuring we never have an issue accessing fuel.
The fuel tanks at our sites are 300 gallons, much larger than a tank an individual mobile network operator would have on-site. That means our fuel supplies last longer, reducing the risk that fuel will run out before refueling can occur.
In the event of needed repairs or fail-to-start scenarios, our program has implemented remote troubleshooting. Nearly 40 percent of error alarms can be addressed remotely, resolving issues immediately without the need to mobilize staff for a site visit. This remote-access capability is unique to our program. For other instances where remote troubleshooting is not possible, we deploy resources quickly to repair or replace generators. Our average time to address fail-to-start issues is fewer than four hours, less than our service level agreement with customers.
To keep our customers fully informed about generator status, we provide detailed monthly reports and daily reports during storm events. We are also developing a secure portal that will allow customers to see the status of their generators at any time. We expect the portal to be available early next year.
Once the outage is over and the site is back on the electrical power grid, additional equipment inspection and damage assessment is also performed at the impacted site. Our teams clean up and ensure generators are refueled, serviced, and ready to start the next time they’re needed.
hours of backup power energy
sites activated over five days
states affected
1Data from August 3 – 7, 2020 for Hurricane Isaias-impacted sites
Our turnkey solution alleviates mobile operators from the extensive time, costs, and resources associated with developing, preparing, and maintaining an in-house backup power program. With this solution, the potential exists to lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared to an in-house program. Mobile operators would be able to avoid the operational burdens of:
The program currently includes 4,400+ generators, and we’re expanding by adding an estimated 5,000 generators over the next five years. These sites provide a cost-effective way for our customers to harden their network quickly and effectively.
generators currently included in the program
number of generators expected by 2025
This past summer was an active hurricane season, and who knows what winter will bring. We have a dedicated team of professionals solely focusing on our generator program and keeping our customers’ critical networks running. It is crucial to have the right procedures and measures in place, and we’re ready for whatever comes our way.
Get More Information
To learn more about our program and resources, visit the Backup Power solutions page.
Boston Business Journal
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