“Knowledge Sharing Session”�“An Evidence-Based Approach to Access Energy Transition in Clean Cooking”

Assistant Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, IISc Campus, Bengaluru-560012

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Dr. Rudrodip Majumdar

Modern Energy Cooking Forum - 2024

27 September 2024

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Funding

Acknowledgment

BACKGROUND (1/2)

• Over the past three decades, LPG has emerged as a cleaner alternative to polluting solid biomass-based cooking fuels in India.

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• LPG prices are linked with international crude prices and are sensitive to fluctuations in Rupee-USD parity. Currently, India has a total of over 310 million LPG cylinder consumers. Out of this, PMUY continues to serve more than 100 million beneficiaries across the country.

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• The PMUY beneficiaries are to receive Rs. 200 (Now revised to Rs. 300) per cylinder as a subsidy if the annual income is below ₹10 lakhs.

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• The subsidy is provided for a maximum of 12 cylinders per year.

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• Issues such as high costs of refill, inadequate area coverage of the LPG cylinder distribution networks, and difficulty in subsidy disbursement for the population without proper bank accounts have discouraged consumers from pursuing LPG refills.

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BACKGROUND (2/2)

• While India is looking to strengthen the power distribution infrastructure to ensure access to clean, modern, and affordable electricity for all, electricity use in the residential cooking sector has not yet witnessed a major pick-up.

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• As of 2022 about 2.4 billion individuals globally and about 500 million residents in India are deprived of access to clean cooking solutions.

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• Electricity-based cooking provides an energy-efficient and cost-effective alternative to LPG in the form of a wide range of appliances, such as induction cooktops, infra-red stoves, and solar-based cooktops.

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• Electricity-based cooking (or eCooking) reduces the carbon footprint attributable to residential cooking if the electricity is sourced from green resources (e.g., Solar, Wind, or Hydropower).

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• Since the households belonging to the low- and medium-income category will continue to rely on LPG in the near-to-medium term based on the support received from the PMUY, the strategies to transform the cooking practices in such houses need to be planned in a thorough and pragmatic manner.

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Project Objectives

1. To Identify suitable locations for understanding the transition towards an electricity-based cooking ecosystem.

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2. To conduct on-ground surveys in selected areas to understand the status of access to electricity in the households, and how the households look at the envisaged transition to electric cooking.

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3. To assess the sub-distribution infrastructure prevalent in the chosen areas (including the cabling and their carrying capacities).

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4. To assess the increase in electricity demand owing to the envisaged transition into electric cooking.

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5. To understand the transition cost to electric residential cooking in select regions.

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6. To develop a framework based on the case studies of select areas, which can serve as a template to look at similar transitions in other regions of India.

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Conceptual flow diagram of the approach adopted in the study

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Spatial Spread of the Large-Scale Survey (N=910) Locations

Goal: Evaluation of Energy Transition Readiness in the Residential Cooking Sector among the Low and Medium-Income Households in Bengaluru

80% HHs in Low-to-Medium Income Range and 20% HHs in Medium & Upper-Medium Income Range

Basic Profiling of the Surveyed Households (N=910)

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Demographic Breakdown

Family Sizes & Number of Adults and Children

• A total of 67.5% of the surveyed households (N=910) reported 3-5 members in the family (M=3 🡪 21%, M=4 🡪 30.7%, M=5 🡪 15.8 %)

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• In the 910 households surveyed -

Adults: 2850, Children: 787, Total: 3637.

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• General: 24%
• SC: 37%
• OBC: 24%
• ST: 8%
• Muslim: 1%
• Christian: 1%
• Prefer not to say: 5%

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69%

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• Post-graduation & above: 4%
• Graduation: 16%
• Intermediate: 28%
• Matriculation: 27%
• Primary (up to 8^th std): 18%
• Illiterate: 7%

73%

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• Less than 8000: 6%
• 8000-12000: 13%
• 12000-25000: 37%
• 25000-35000: 26%
• 35000-60000: 9%
• 60000-90000: 4%
• 90000 and above: 5%

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56%

18%

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• 500-1500: 53%
• 1500-2500: 28%
• 2500-4500: 7%
• 4500-6500: 4%
• 6500 and above: 8%

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81%

Cooking Fuel Used by the Surveyed Households (N=910)

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Frequency of Major Meals and Taste Perceptions (N=910)

63.3% of Surveyed HHs make major meals 1-2 times daily.

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• Most families belonging to young couples have a family size of 2-5 members, so they require less cooking time.

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• Cooking time often depends on the menu (Lesser cooking time means low cooking energy consumption).

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• Also, several young working couples eat outside at least once daily (i.e., low cooking energy consumption).

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Variations in Taste Perception among Exclusive LPG Users & eCooking Users

based on the Food Cooking Method

Do you think that the tastes of food items depend on how they are cooked (using gas ovens or using charcoal/ wood in Chulha)?

Insights Regarding Household Decision-Making (N=910)

Willingness to Pay for Modern Energy Cooking Devices (N=910)

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• Do they want to purchase electric cooking appliances?
• Yes: 33%
• Maybe: 29%
• No: 38%

Around 33% of the respondents have shown interest in modern electricity-based cooking.

Through an appropriate nudge, a significant eCooking penetration can be achieved (up to a high penetration level of 62%).

The current level (among respondents) is about 8%.

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• Below Rs. 1500: 21%
• Rs. 1500 - 3000: 22%
• Rs. 3000- 5000: 4%
• Not Sure: 3%
• Don't want to buy: 50%

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43%

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Perception Regarding Benefits and Challenges of eCooking (N=910)

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• Benefits of Electric Cooking as Perceived by Respondents (A data-driven ranking based on relative abundance) (N=450)

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• Efficient (Faster Cooking) (24%)
• Convenient (Easy to cook, use and maintain; affordable) (22%)
• Versatile and Modern (Alternative for LPG) (15%)
• Time-saving (12%)
• Safety (Safe to use) (11%)
• Portable (Easy to carry and clean) (7%)
• Cost-effective (consumes less current and saves money) (7%)
• Environment-friendly (2%)

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• Challenges of Electric Cooking Indicated by Respondents (A data-driven ranking based on relative abundance) (N=485)
• Electricity cost considerations (Higher power consumption & High electricity bills ) (27%)
• Perceived risks (Fear of electric shocks) (18%)
• Functionality (Not easy to operate) (13%)
• Adaptation (Can't cook all dishes) and Adoption (No multiple burners for large servings) (9%)
• Practicality (Need specific vessels) (7%)
• Safety concerns (May cause accidents) (7%)
• Reliability (Disruption in food preparation due to Power-cuts) (6%)
• Taste factors (Taste changes & can burn the food) (6%)
• Maintenance and durability (Difficult to maintain) (4%)
• No Benefits (2%)
• Accessibility and affordability (Costly devices; Not as efficient as LPG) (1%)

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Household Access to Electricity and Reliability of Sub-distribution System (N=910)

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• Daily (Multiple times): 5%
• Daily (Once): 16%
• Several times a week: 41%
• Several times a month: 29%
• Have Not Noticed: 3%
• Never: 6%

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62%

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Assessment of Electricity Generation and Supply-Demand Gap

Scenario Building (2024-2030)

• Scenario G1: 50% Realization of the Envisaged RE Capacity Increase by 2030. The generation will take place at the current levels of average PLFs (for conventional generation) and CUFs (for renewable power). This is the most pessimistic scenario among the four.

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• Scenario G2: 50% Realization of the Envisaged RE Capacity Increase by 2030. A certain increase in generation is considered through a progressive increase in average PLFs (for conventional generation) and CUFs (for renewable power).

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• Scenario G3: 100% Realization of the Envisaged RE Capacity Increase by 2030. The generation will take place at the current levels of average PLFs (for conventional generation) and CUFs (for renewable power).

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• Scenario G4: 100% Realization of the Envisaged RE Capacity Increase by 2030. A certain increase in generation is considered through a progressive increase in average PLFs (for conventional generation) and CUFs (for renewable power). This is the most optimistic scenario among the four.

Bengaluru Electricity Consumption (Literature Survey)

Electricity Consumption Scenario Building

Scenario EC1: The per capita electricity consumption in Bengaluru City remains constant at 1387.64 kWh between 2024 and 2030. However, the overall consumption increases due to the projected population growth.

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Scenario EC2: The per capita electricity consumption in Bengaluru City increases gradually at a CAGR of 5.66% to reach 1931.24 kWh (i.e., Mean +0.5SD) by 2030, from the current level of 1387.64 kWh in 2024. Further increases in overall consumption will emerge from the projected population growth.

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Scenario EC3: The per capita electricity consumption in Bengaluru City increases gradually at a CAGR of 10.12% to reach 2474.84 kWh (i.e., Mean + SD) by 2030, from the current level of 1387.64 kWh in 2024. Further increases in overall consumption will emerge from the projected population growth.

Electricity Demand Expected from eCooking

• A detailed bottom-up calculation has shown that if a household with 4 to 5 members shifts completely to electric cooking, the maximum electrical energy consumed for cooking and allied activities per household per year would be: 1034.8 kWh.
• About 8% of the survey sample currently use some form of major electric cooking appliances for daily residential cooking as well as reheating leftovers.
• In low-to-medium income Bengaluru households that currently use some form of eCooking alongside LPG to prepare the major meals, about 35% of the gross energy used in residential cooking comes from electricity.
• Regarding the willingness to purchase electric cooking appliances, 33% responded positively (said Yes in the survey response), 29% indicated a tentative possibility (said Maybe in the survey response), and 38% responded negatively (said No in the survey response).
• Therefore, from the current level of population penetration of eCooking (~8%), a realistic target would be to reach a population penetration level of 33% by 2030 (the timeline decided by the United Nations for the reasonable realization of SDGs). This would amount to achieving a low-hanging fruit.
• Further, optimistic scenarios would involve attaining an eCooking population penetration level of more than 33%, up to a possible upper limit of 62% (highly optimistic scenario).

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Share of Electricity in the Household Cooking Energy Use

• We assume that the average daily energy consumption for household cooking will remain fixed at 3.593 kWh (for an average family size of 4.4).
• However, the relative share of electricity in cooking energy usage is assumed to increase from the current level of 35% to 80% by 2030 (S1 to S4).
• In the Ambitious Adoption Scenario (S5), the share of electricity in cooking energy usage is assumed to reach 100% in 2030 amongst the population projected to take up eCooking.

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eCooking Transition Constrained by LPG Domination

B2RH: From base level consumption (Mixer/ Grinder), electricity consumption grows to (base level + consumption for food reheating/ water heating using microwave oven);

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B2IC: From base level consumption (Mixer/ Grinder), electricity consumption grows to (base level + consumption for making rice using induction cooktop);

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B2ICRH: Accounts for both rice cooking using an Induction cooktop and food reheating/ water heating using a microwave oven.

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Any mass penetration level above 8% may follow one of these scenarios in an eCooking Transition constrained by LPG domination.

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The 8% population already into eCooking will follow the aspirational trajectory described before.

Ecosystem Challenges Observed by Appliance Manufacturers

• Responses from the eCooking Appliance/Vessel Manufacturers indicate that the following points require close attention:

1. Expansion of Product Range: Need various eCooking appliances to cater to diverse consumer segments and cooking needs.

2. Intensification of Marketing Efforts: Need targeted awareness campaigns to impart education among consumers on the benefits and performance of eCooking appliances, leveraging the existing retail network. (Even LPG retail networks can be utilized for rapid scaling-up)

3. Enhanced Engagement with the Government: Need serious efforts toward meaningful advocacy and forming partnerships with government bodies to gain support and recognition.

4. Bolstering of Local Manufacturing: Need to explore the scope of local manufacturing to reduce dependence on international suppliers.

5. Focus on Affordability: The ways to bring down the price should be continuously explored to keep the consumers interested.

Directions for Evaluation of Transition Cost (1/3)

• NIAS study could identify the directions for a preliminary assessment of the hidden costs associated with the eCooking transition in Indian households.

Cooking Vessel Material & Shape:

• The LPG-dominated cooking landscape in Bengaluru showed a predominance of round-bottom vessels made of aluminium.
• To transform households toward using electricity for daily cooking, a major shift needs to take place from current patterns of using kitchen utensils.
• The steel vessels are used by the Bengaluru households. However, all the vessels made of steel may not be suitable for use in electric cooking, such as cooking with induction cooktops.

Price of eCooking Appliances:

• Several eCooking appliance vendors have kept a minimum price of Rs. 5000 for the devices.
• The survey of low-to-medium income households (N=910) indicates that a large fraction is willing to pay up to a price limit of Rs. 3500 to experience a new, modern energy cooking solution. The cost differential needs to be absorbed through a suitable mechanism.

Directions for Evaluation of Transition Cost (2/3)

Appliance Servicing and Repairing

• The respondents who own eCooking appliances and use some form of eCooking daily reported the absence of ‘servicing and repairing support’ in case the device gets damaged or becomes operationally defective.
• Creating a pool of skilled manpower would be necessary to build a robust servicing and repairing support ecosystem. This would require investments.

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eCooking Knowhow Dissemination

• Public Relations channels are needed for community-level dissemination of information including a hands-on demonstration on cooking popular items on various eCooking appliances.
• The dissemination of knowledge regarding appliance upkeep is also necessary.
• Investments are needed to engage domain experts and full-time educators who would inform the consumer community and provide feedback to the supplier side regarding consumer concerns.

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Directions for Evaluation of Transition Cost (3/3)

Understanding Consumer Mindset in Rural and Urban Settings

• There is a difference in people’s mindset in urban and rural / semi-rural settings in India.
• Busy life in the cities may prompt people to purchase eCooking appliances to save time and gain convenience, affordability will be the most important consideration in rural areas.

Robust Sub-distribution Infrastructure (including Household Wiring)

• Strengthening the sub-distribution infrastructure (cabling and augmenting transformer capacity) to ensure uninterrupted access to reliable electricity.
• Additionally, the concealed wiring in the households also needs to be strengthened to facilitate adequate load-carrying capacity.
• Low-income households may not be able to spend for such upgradation. GOI may need to find suitable financial partners to unlock funds necessary for electrical sub-distribution infrastructure enhancement aimed at robust last-mile connectivity of electricity distribution networks.

Rejuvenated & Proactive Transition Efforts from Appliance and Vessel OEMs

• Dietary preferences are deep-rooted in behavioral and cultural practices. Interventions from the eCooking system should be aimed at the direction of cooking fuel (and appliances) and the cooking vessels.

Thank You!☺

‘Know-how of daily-life technologies’ as a proxy to understand the attitude toward any change (Transition Reflex)

• About 36% of the respondents mentioned that they Never use QR Code Payment / Online Payment in daily life.

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• Vernacularity in Internet Browsing Activities was found to be substantial: 45.8% reported using English, 35.5% used Kannada, and 6.5% used Tamil.

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• About 23% of the respondents mentioned NOT being comfortable with Electronic Gadgets & Equipment.

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• About 38% of the respondents mentioned requiring help from others for searching information on the Internet.