- Date
- 7th May 2026
- Categories
- Clean Cooking, Clean Energy
By Dr Yesmeen Khalifa (Loughborough University) and Professor Matt Leach (Gamos Ltd.)
This blog focuses on how the global energy supply disruptions are exposing the vulnerability of clean cooking fuels, and why eCooking is becoming central to energy security.
The global energy disruptions and clean cooking transitions
The current global energy crisis is no longer confined to oil, gas, power markets, or industrial supply chains. It is also reshaping the future of clean cooking transitions. The Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have triggered the largest supply disruption in energy history1. Between 27th February and 2nd March, the total number of LNG vessels traversing the Strait of Hormuz each day fell from 95 to almost zero, disrupting 20% of the global LNG supply and significantly increasing the price volatility2. Beyond that, damage to 12.8 Mtpa of liquefaction capacity at Ras Laffan has created a more prolonged supply shock, with repairs expected to take three to five years. This extends the disruption beyond the immediate closure and is likely to reverse earlier expectations of a global LNG oversupply that prevailed before the outbreak of the war, as discussed in the AFREC webinar, which focused on the impact of the Middle East conflict on the energy sector in Africa. The natural gas prices also experienced two major spikes as the geopolitical tensions escalated.
These disruptions show that cooking fuels are directly exposed to the global energy insecurity. This is most visible in the LPG markets. In developing economies, where LPG is widely used as a cooking fuel, import prices increased by around 80%1,3. LPG represents 10% of the global oil demand and is the primary cooking fuel for around 2.3 billion people in Asia1. According to IEA estimates, 17% of households currently relying on LPG as a cooking fuel are expected to switch back to wood or charcoal3. This is a warning sign for clean cooking transitions. Cooking is a daily necessity that cannot be postponed when energy systems are stressed. When prices rise or supply is constrained, households still need to cook, often by returning to traditional fuels4.
The price shock forced governments to intervene to stabilise fuel prices, but doing so is adding more pressure on public budgets and on local energy companies3. The IEA 2026 Energy Crisis Policy Response Tracker shows how governments are rationing LPG cylinders. The Maldives and Nepal moved to half-filled cooking cylinders as a short-term conservation measure. India is accelerating the rollout of piped natural gas to reduce reliance on domestic LPG, rationing commercial LPG use, and promoting the shift to electric cookstoves. While Cambodia reduced the import taxes on electric stoves and renewable energy technologies to encourage the adoption of more resilient alternatives.
LPG dependence and the risks of relying on imported transitional fuels
These emergency responses reveal a deeper vulnerability. Many African countries are planning or starting to scale-up LPG use for cooking, but this pathway carries significant risks. Heavy reliance on imported LPG can expose countries to foreign exchange pressures, global price fluctuations, and insecure supply chains, while also requiring major investment in processing, storage, distribution, and last-mile delivery systems4. Although LPG rollouts have often been supported by large government programmes, subsidies, and incentives, sustaining these measures can strain public budgets, and be politically contentious to reform. Affordability barriers, uneven refill uptake, consumer safety concerns, and uncertainties over LPG’s role in the Net Zero pathways further complicate its long-term viability, particularly given that LPG is widely framed as a transitional rather than a permanent cooking fuel4.
Uneven regional impacts
The impacts of the energy crisis are distributed unevenly across continents. Asia is currently the most exposed, because many countries depend on oil and gas imports from Gulf producers, including China, North-East Asia, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In these countries, the crisis is increasing prices of food, transport, and cooking fuels. Africa is affected indirectly, through higher refined fuel prices, LNG market shocks, and higher prices for energy-rich commodities, such as fertilisers. Immediate downstream pressure is most visible in East and Southern Africa, where many countries remain highly dependent on Middle East product supply (AFREC webinar).
During the AFREC webinar, the panellists emphasised that the current disruption should be considered as a strategic warning for Africa. Although the disruption is external to the continent, its impacts are being felt across the African energy systems and markets. If a similar disruption occurred within Africa itself, the consequences could be far more severe. Therefore, the panellists stressed that African countries should strengthen domestic capacity, expand regional cooperation, build local financing mechanisms, and restructure energy systems to make them more resilient, diversified, and sustainable. This includes harnessing Africa’s significant renewable energy potential as key part of energy security, supported by political commitment, adequate infrastructure, reduced dependence on foreign investment, and more resilient markets.
Since the 2024 IEA Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa, governments have announced or implemented 56 new electricity access policies and 64 new cooking initiatives3. Sub-Saharan Africa led most of this renewed momentum. Yet, the current crisis threatens to slow or reverse progress, especially for clean cooking3.
The “age of electricity” and the rise of eCooking as an energy security strategy
At the same time, the world is entering what the IEA describes as an “age of electricity”. Electricity demand grew at twice the pace of the total energy demand in 2025, with renewable energy resources providing 60% of the growth in global demand5. Solar PV alone accounted for more than a quarter of this growth. For the first time on record, a modern renewable technology contributed the largest single share of global energy demand growth5. These shifts are reinforcing the notion of the “electro-state,” where governments increasingly view electrification, and investments in renewables, grids expansion and storage, as instruments of energy sovereignty and risk management3,5.
In this context, eCooking should be considered a key element of the energy security agenda, particularly in countries where electricity supply is expanding and renewables are becoming more affordable. IRENA (2026) highlights that for households in energy-import-dependent developing economies with limited fiscal space, small-scale energy solutions can improve resilience during energy shocks6. These include rooftop solar, battery storage, and eCooking. Recent experience of countries such as Pakistan and India shows this clearly. In Pakistan, the rapid deployment of decentralised solar and batteries has helped protect households and the wider energy system from the current energy crisis. In India, eCooking has emerged as a critical backup option for households affected by LPG supply disruptions and price pressures6. eCooking also has been one of the IEA’s ten recommendations on sheltering households, businesses, and governments from oil shocks as a way to manage LPG shortages and to conserve LPG for essential uses1.
Clean cooking transitions should not depend on a single imported fuel. The IEA’s ACCESS pathways, suggest that LPG will play a key role in expanding clean cooking access by 2040. In Africa, over 60% of people gaining access to clean cooking are expected to have access through LPG, while 17% will have access through eCooking7. The IEA scenario reinforces the view of LPG as an important transition fuel in the short and medium term. However, as the energy system electrifies, crises linked to LPG price volatility and import dependence could accelerate investment in eCooking. A more resilient pathway should combine targeted support for vulnerable households with redirecting LPG subsidies and incentives towards scaling up renewable energy and energy efficient eCooking solutions as part of broader energy security strategies. As electricity access expands and renewable energy costs continue to fall, eCooking can help reduce dependence on imported fuels, support household resilience, and align clean cooking transitions with the energy security and sustainability goals.
eCooking can only fulfil this role if solutions are affordable for low-income households; tariffs, appliance prices and financing models will determine whether eCooking strengthens resilience or deepens exclusion. Therefore, our next blog in this three-part series will focus on affordability, followed by a third blog on how eCooking can be aligned with climate and sustainability objectives.
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References
1 IEA. Sheltering from Oil Shocks. France, 2026 https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/01fe3dd7-21c1-4b16-8c5b-7df1aca6d6ff/Shelteringfromoilshocks.pdf
2 IEA. Gas Market Report, Q2-2026. France, 2026 https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/8a1b93f9-d096-4dcd-b29a-77613f201ecc/GasMarketReport%2CQ2-2026.pdf
3 IEA. State of Energy Policy 2026. France, 2026 https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/b3912b14-b276-4729-8f94-3d6f17b84226/StateofEnergyPolicy2026.pdf
4 AFREC, MECS, ESMAP. Sustainable Scaling: Meeting the Clean Cooking Challenge in Africa. 2024 https://mecs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/English-Ver._Main-Publication_Sustainable-Scaling_Meeting-the-Clean-Cooking-Challenge-in-Africa.pdf
5 IEA. Global Energy Review 2026. France, 2026 https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ade8ff08-3401-4e0b-9b3b-e8f3988d238e/GlobalEnergyReview2026.pdf
6 IEA. Universal Access to Clean Cooking in Africa Progress update and roadmap for implementation. Paris, 2025 https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/6ac18009-c1b9-47b6-a985-195790962088/UniversalAccesstoCleanCookinginAfrica.pdf
7 IRENA. From energy crisis to energy security: Actions for policy makers. Abu Dhabi, 2026 https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2026/Apr/IRENA_policy_advisory_4-26-1_Middle_East-_2026.pdf#:~:text=This%20resilience%2C%20both%20in%20terms,term%20economic%20stability
Image Credit: Featured image in this blog is AI generated using ChatGPT.
AI Disclaimer: AI tools were used to support the structure of this blog, with all content refined and authored by a human.