Go electric: Reducing cooking expenses starts from home

Kalpana Aryal, a 40-year-old homemaker lady, talks about how switching to electric cooking instead of gas allowed her to lower her LPG bills and how this altered her daily cooking schedule because it is dependable and convenient. Kalpana started using electric cooking three years ago, and she hasn't looked back since.

This means a considerable saving of the LPG bill, which costs around Rs 1,900 per cylinder. “Households can slash their LPG bills if housewives are trained about the usage and accessibility of E-cooking,” Aryal says: It is a smart, affordable, accessible and simple method of cooking.

Electric cooking has the potential to improve the quality of life for people who cook using biomass, both by improving health by eradicating harmful emissions and by removing the need to collect fuelwood, thus freeing up time for other activities. Per some estimates, 63.6 percent of Nepali households, primarily those in rural regions, still primarily utilize biomass for cooking, accounting for 69 percent of the country’s primary energy usage. 

Conventional biomass cookstoves emit a lot of smoke and are inefficient. These burners expose women and children to dangerous toxins in kitchens with inadequate ventilation. Women also frequently have to walk great distances to gather firewood, and cleaning a kitchen covered in smoke residue is a tedious task.

Notably, 33.1 percent of Nepali homes use bottled liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is also being used more and more frequently as their primary cooking fuel. In less than five percent of Nepali homes, cooking is done with electricity. Susil Shrestha, an electric appliances seller based in Mahaboudhha, says electrical cooking devices are in high demand as they are effective in terms of cost and time both. The government’s positive impetus on the use of these devices is also fueling the demand, per Shrestha. 

The right to live in a hygienic and safe environment is guaranteed to residents of Nepal under the Constitution and by 2030, all Nepali households are expected to have clean cooking. Electricity and LPG are currently the government’s two most promising technological solutions when it comes to renewable energy. The government wants to encourage electric cooking because of Nepal’s enormous solar and hydropower potential. 

This is due to the fact that LPG not only adds to carbon dioxide emissions but also depletes Nepal’s meager foreign exchange reserves and increases its reliance on fuel imports, leading to energy instability. The Nepal Electricity Authority makes investments in distribution system reinforcement in order to achieve this aim. 

Biraj Gautam, CEO of PEEDA, adds the widespread of electric cooking awareness in urban areas than in rural. He adds “There is no denying the financial advantages of switching to electric stoves: Less reliance on imported LPG gas will accumulate valuable foreign exchange reserves, which can subsequently be directed toward more fruitful industries that support the advancement of the country. Beyond the financial benefits, Nepal’s goals for sustainable development are ideally aligned with the use of electric stoves. Since electricity is a greener and cleaner energy source, it is essential for lowering carbon emissions and lessening the negative effects of climate change.”

The Department of Customs’ (DoC) records offer factual proof of Nepal’s transition to electric stoves, a move that has numerous potential advantages for the country. Nepal imported an astounding 204,393 electric stove units in the fiscal year 2022-23 alone, spending a total of Rs 425.47m. This astounding number not only demonstrates the increasing interest from consumers, but it also represents a move toward more economical and ecologically responsible cooking methods. It is impossible to overlook the notable surge in the quantity of electric stoves acquired, which represents a whopping 30 percent increase over the previous fiscal. A significant trend toward the usage of electric stoves in homes is indicated by an growth rate. Indicating a wide range of consumer preferences, 130,745 induction stoves and 73,648 infrared stoves made up the total number of imported units. This paradigm shift has far-reaching and profound repercussions.

Former NEA MD and Pulchowk Engineering College professor Mukesh Kafle emphasizes “the need for an in-depth assessment of Nepal’s energy infrastructure in light of the surge in imports of electric stoves. A regular and consistent supply of electricity would be necessary to keep up the momentum and promote the widespread use of electric stoves. Without which, cooking online would only become a hassle.” He adds that if every person in a nation wants to switch to electric cooking, there won’t be enough electricity. He also offers his insightful commentary on the government’s repeated delays in finishing various hydropower storage projects, which prevents us from using the hydropower that sustains our nation.

Due to the limited electricity supply and simple access to rural places, cooking with electrical appliances is still problematic in Nepal. Only five amps of current can be used in a majority of Nepal’s older dwellings. While electricity is easy to use in new homes, there are other issues like intermittent load-shedding, only half-light systems, problems when cooking materials malfunction in electrical appliances, the inability to get it in Nepal, and concerns about the quality, availability and taste of food.

As a result, Nepal Electricity Authority and associated parties must take note of it. To ensure a prosperous future for their population, governments must constantly adjust to new paradigms in a world marked by rapid technical innovation and environmental conscience. Nepal, a nation blessed with stunning scenery and a rich cultural legacy, is welcoming change in one crucial area: The energy sector.

In opposition to what Mukesh Kafle claimed, the current MD of the NEA, MR. Kulman Ghising, argues that there is a production difference in power during the wet and dry seasons. He describes the “trade mechanism that involves purchasing electricity from them during the dry season and exporting it during the dry season.” Several reservoir projects and storage projects, such as the 140 MW Tanahu water project, are in the works to fill these gaps.

Electricity must be readily available, dependable and reasonably priced in order for electric cooking to become widely used in Nepal, as was previously said. Although Nepal possesses enormous hydropower potential, run-of-the-river (RoR) plants are the only way to fully utilize this potential. There are very few strategically viable seasonal storage projects, and developing them comes with a significant social, environmental and financial cost. Thus, in order to supplement RoR and storage hydropower plants with solar PV plants that can generate energy throughout the day, when solar resources are accessible, and during the dry season, the government must develop an electricity generation policy. 

In Nepal, the vertically integrated NEA’s monopoly is another impediment to innovation in the power sector. Rent-seeking,political patronage and labor unions’ powerful influence have all contributed to the institutional lock-in that has come from this. In light of this, decomposing the resulting monolithic distribution company into seven provincial distribution companies and quickly unbundling NEA into distinct generation, transmission and distribution companies could encourage additional advancements in the field of electricity distribution.

In order to fix the price of power based on supply and demand, the government will need to create a differential energy tariff system. Since there would be less demand for electricity when it is in excess, the price of electricity would be cheaper. To encourage electric cooking in particular, a pricing structure of this kind for residential consumers may be developed. In addition, a big public education effort regarding the financial and ecological advantages of using electricity for cooking will need to be launched by the government. Using electric cooking will be encouraged in part by this. We need to acknowledge the various initiatives in this respect that the government and its agencies have become involved in, with cooperation from the business and non-governmental sectors.

Without a doubt, Nepal’s growing interest in electric stoves represents a constructive and revolutionary change that is consistent with the objectives of the worldwide sustainability movement. To take advantage of this momentum, the government needs to make sure that everyone in the country has access to reliable and effective electricity. By doing this, Nepal may significantly lower the amount of LPG gas it imports, protecting its foreign exchange reserves, promoting environmental preservation, and promoting economic growth. 

The increasing use of electric stoves should be viewed as a sign of development, leading Nepal toward a more prosperous, independent and ecologically conscious future. In order to encourage the use of electric cooking over LPG cooking, the government must put a great deal of effort into developing and implementing sensible policies. Government, non-government and private sectors must work together closely and coordinate their efforts to create a smoke-free environment and enable all Nepali households to use clean, renewable electricity produced locally for cooking. This will go a long way toward helping Nepal achieve its goal of becoming a net zero-carbon nation by 2050.

The government should be commended for the positive progress and provide strategic assistance for the recent increase in the import of electric stoves and cooking devices. The advancement of electric stoves should be seen as a sign of progress that moves Nepal toward a future that is not only brighter, but also more self-sufficient and environment-friendly. Now is the time to act as Nepal moves toward sustainability and prosperity for all.

This story has been produced under the program, #CommunicatingClimate is an initiative under the Climate Champion Action Network (CACN)