Energy

[G4-EN3], [G4-EN6] Energy consumption by the Group is presented according to the guidelines proposed by the Global Reporting Initiative regarding direct consumption for heating, electricity generation and transport (Scope1, according to the GreenHouse Gas Protocol1) and indirect consumption for the purchase and use of electricity (Scope2).

Heating systems

The data in the table shows that in 2016 a significant reduction with respect to 2015 and 2014 can mainly be attributed to the review of the methods for reporting on fuel consumption, but also the climatic conditions that occurred during the year of reference and to real estate rationalisation and energy efficiency.

In Brazil, given the particular climate conditions throughout the year, indoor heating is not used. INWIT, the company of the Group that operates in Italy in the electronic communication infrastructure sector, is much smaller than the Group and is therefore part of the Domestic BU.

Transport(*)

In general, energy consumption for transport and journeys is reduced. In Italy a project to renew the operational fleet is underway.

Consumption figures for electricity used to operate telecommunications and civil/industrial technological plants are shown below. The purchase of electricity from mixed sources increased significantly in 2016 compared to the previous two years due to the decision not to invest, in Italy, in acquiring guarantees of origin, which certify the electricity produced by renewable sources, but rather in energy efficiency measures which concerned the network infrastructure and company offices.

In recent years technological developments concerning the fixed and mobile network infrastructure and IT solutions are resulting in a significant annual increase in energy consumption. In Italy, developments in the fixed and mobile network were more than offset by the savings made possible by a series of energy efficiency measures started in previous years as well as by new measures started and completed in 2016.

Electricity procured and produced

The tables below specify the main areas of increased consumption and savings at TIM S.p.A..

Deployment projects in Italy

Savings projects in Italy

In 2014 and 2015 TIM has already assessed solutions to provide increased energy efficiency for the GSM radio base stations installed on its network. In 2016 the activity expanded to energy efficiency solutions for 3G and 4G, for all TIM suppliers. As a whole, these solutions enable significant savings in consumption for the mobile access network without resorting to physically switching off the radio sites. These savings are in the range of 4-6 GWh/year for each 2G, 3G and 4G radio access network and overall they ensure estimated savings of around 3% of the total annual consumption of the TIM mobile network.

The self-generation of electricity, through co-generation and tri-generation systems, was essentially stable in 2016 compared to 2015. In 2016 some large plants underwent extraordinary maintenance works which slowed down their normal operation. In the next few years the plan is to take greater advantage of the potential of production from tri-generation plants in line with a goal to increase self-generation by around 20%. Cogeneration and trigeneration systems use around 30% less energy than traditional electricity generation systems, and play a by no means negligible role for TIM, particularly in industrial sites, in data processing centres (DPCs), which have notable energy requirements and high heating/cooling requirements.

The energy efficiency of TIM was also recognised through the awarding of Energy Efficiency Certificates (EEC, also known as White Certificates): at the end of 2016 the overall number of projects approved was 41, corresponding to an estimated economic value at current prices, over 5 years, of 44.5 million euros. The certificates, also known as white certificates, certify the achievement of energy savings in the final use of energy through measures to increase virtuous energy efficiency as the performance is better than the national average. In 2016, revenues from EEC sales came to around 21 million euros.

In 2016, numerous measures were implemented; the main ones are described below.

Continuity measures in the industrial sector:

• Lighting Plan relating to the fixed network exchanges: the plan to replace conventional neon light fittings in the fixed network exchanges with LED technology tubes was completed. In 2016 all 108,500 tubes envisaged were installed in addition to the 100,000 replaced in 2015. The energy savings when fully operational are expected to be around 7 GWh.
• Fixed network exchanges: the equipment compactness measures were completed. The project resulted in the virtualization and increased efficiency of the network servers. The benefits of these measures are linked to a significant reduction of energy consumption by the equipment estimated, when fully operational, to be around 2.5 GWh.
• Decommissioning initiatives for “obsolete” technological platforms continued, which mainly concerned the following projects:
• PSTN: the Project involves the migration of traditional accesses (except for ISDN accesses) to innovative platforms (VoIP). This will result in reduced energy consumption, occupation of space and maintenance, and in general in the overcoming of the obsolescence of the traditional plants. As a result, in 2016 the plan to switch off roadside equipment that is no longer necessary (around 9,400) continued.
• The project to shift to superSGU was completed. The initiative aimed to make the fixed network equipment more compact, concentrating the functions of some Urban Group Stages (SGUs) on a reduced number of ‘superSGU’ with direct benefits in terms of reducing energy consumption, estimated when fully operational to be around 3 GWh.
• ATM: the Project involves optimizing data accesses with the gradual disposal of ATM devices and a shift to IP technology devices. This will result in reduced energy consumption and in general the overcoming of the obsolescence of the traditional plants.
• Quick-Hits: the modernization plans for obsolete company systems through architecture simplification resulting in increased energy efficiency are part of this category.
• Power supply system: the plan to fully replace the largest power stations with the lowest performances has led to the installation of 235 new appliances; works to replace the rectifier modules were also completed, which affected 253 power stations; this made it possible to raise the average performance to above 90%.
• Air conditioning systems: as regards the fixed network, the plan to replace the obsolete Cooling Units (83) and Air Conditioners (215) with new, higher-performance appliances has been completed; as for the mobile network, in 2016, 120 power stations were replaced and free-cooling solutions were adopted which meant 122 air conditioning systems could be switched off.

The set points management project was completed; this project involved the installation of a “well-being” button which allows the engineers at work to temporarily improve the room temperature for the duration of the work.

In total, in 2016, in order to modernise the technology and streamline systems serving the fixed network exchanges and Radio Base Stations of the mobile network, the following was achieved:

• 608 actions were carried out on power stations;
• 420 actions were carried out on air conditioning systems;
• 1,187 actions were carried out on batteries.

For the 2016 works on the power supply and air conditioning systems in the industrial sec- tors an overall reduction in consumption of around 20 GWh is estimated when fully opera- tional; where possible, the relative Energy Efficiency Certificates (white certificates) will be requested.

Continuity measures in the office area:

• LED Lighting Project: the plan started in previous years to replace conventional neon light fittings in the main office premises with LED technology, motion sensors and intensity adjustment (dimmer switches) has been completed. In 2016 another 1,800 neon lights were replaced.
• UPS replacement project: the plan to replace UPSs with an average service life of over 10- 15 years to comply with regulations, to optimize the air conditioning in offices, has been completed.

In the trials area, the development of 4 solar-cooling plants (Apulia region) with the aim of using solar energy to cover the entire thermal demand of the exchange, using lithium bromide absorbers, has been completed.

New measures in the industrial area:

• Insulation Plants: measures to reduce energy consumption have been completed through the application of reflective films on glass, total internal darkening, the insulation of boxes, the extension of free cooling, the internal insulation of ceilings, the insulation of walls, the closure of the holes and cable ducts used for systems, the installation of hydraulic door closures and monitoring instruments.
• “Smart Building”: the installation of appropriate environmental sensors on 2 TIM PoPs1 (Padua and Mestre) was completed; the aim was to optimise consumption linked to air conditioning by creating heat maps, calculating the optimal set-point temperatures and the optimal programming of the use of different Cooling Units.

¹ The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), defines the standards of reference for measuring, managing and recording greenhouse gas emissions. 

² PoPs, or Points of Presence, are points providing access to the network along the access network.