Econet Plans To Expand Its Use Of Tesla Batteries

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe said it has plans to expand its use of batteries from Tesla for its operations beyond providing backup power at base stations.

Speaking to Bloomberg via email Econet said “We have plans to scale up the use of the batteries at Econet core network sites and other group installations,”

“The use of full hybrid and off-grid power solutions is even more urgent today, in light of the widening deficit between electricity demand and supply.”

Electricity has been a problem in Zimbabwe since May 2019 and MNOs have been the most impacted companies in Zimbabwe, with fuel cost running in the millions per months.

Econet was the first MNO to Install Tesla Powerwall batteries at their boosters. Econet has a total of 1300 boosters countrywide. The Tesla Powerwall batteries reportedly cost $6500 each and they can power a booster up to 10 hours a day, as they were mostly meant to act as a backup in the event of solar panels failing to power boosters for various reasons.