Digicel Group’s energy consumption increased 20.3% during its 2025-2026 financial year as higher data demand and hurricane recovery work drove greater power use.
The telecommunications company, which operates in the Cayman Islands, said it consumed 247.8 gigawatt-hours in the year ended 31 March, compared with a restated 206.1 GWh in the previous financial year.
In its 2026 Sustainability report, the company said that the increase came as demand for data grew and the company carried out network recovery work after Hurricane Melissa. The hurricane struck Jamaica and other Caribbean markets in October 2025.
Digicel reported 199,494 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions for the year. That was 13.9% higher than the previous year.
Hurricane Melissa affected 644 mobile sites across three markets at its peak. Digicel said it restored full service within 48 days, with the recovery requiring increased field activity and longer use of generators.
The company said its climate forecasting partner provided five days of advance warning before landfall. Equipment and other resources were positioned ahead of the storm as part of the response.
The increase in total emissions came despite a reduction in the carbon intensity of Digicel’s energy use. Carbon intensity fell 5.3%, from 0.85 to 0.80 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour.
Digicel linked the reduction to network modernisation, including solar generation and lithium iron phosphate battery systems.
The battery systems have been deployed across 24 markets and can provide up to 40% more available energy than the systems they replace.
At hybrid sites, the batteries can reduce diesel-generator runtime by as much as 75%, the company said.
Fiscal 2026 also provided Digicel with its first group-wide baseline for energy and emissions data.
The company plans to set formal emissions-reduction targets in fiscal 2027 and expand renewable energy and storage deployment into additional markets.
Climate resilience also featured in the company’s report.
Digicel implemented a group business continuity policy across all 25 markets during fiscal 2026, establishing common standards for preparedness, response and recovery.
Its data centres and cell sites are designed to withstand conditions of up to Category 4 hurricanes. Digicel also uses network backups, cloud redundancies, backup power and redundant fibre connectivity.
The report also covered cybersecurity, supplier oversight and community investment.
The Digicel Foundations delivered 2,902 projects and supported 2.4 million people across Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago during the period.
Digicel established a Sustainability Committee during fiscal 2026 to oversee sustainability strategy, performance and material sustainability-related risks and opportunities across its markets.
