MECS has conducted a Global Market Assessment for electric cooking to identify where the greatest opportunities and challenges for a scale up of electric cooking in the global south lie. Detailed information on a number of countries can be found on fact sheets which can be accessed via clicking the white boxes.
The results of the GMA are shown on the map below (dark blue = high viability of scale up of electric cooking). Full information and analysis is provided in the report.
How are the GMA scores calculated?
The GMA draws on the experience of a range of stakeholders to identify the key factors which influence the viability of a scale up of electric cooking and represents this as a weighted score constructed from 37 indicators covering 130 countries in the Global South. As electric cooking relies on a supply of electricity which is provided in a variety of different ways, the GMA provides a score for national grid, mini-grid* and off-grid (standalone)* supported electric cooking as well as a combined overall score as to the viability of a scale up of electric cooking.
* “mini-grid” and “off-grid (standalone)” refer to renewables powered systems (e.g. hydro mini-grids, solar home systems) only; non-renewables (e.g. diesel generators) are excluded
Key findings
Energy (including the strength of electricity infrastructure and clean cooking market) and human development (gender inequality, ICT adoption, logistics and business indices) are key enabling factors for scaling up electric cooking.
There are a number of countries where a scale up of electric cooking is both viable and urgently needed, including: China, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Kenya, Myanmar, Philippines, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. Having high GMA scores and the presence of large numbers of people paying for polluting fuels (e.g. charcoal and/or kerosene) suggests that pivoting to electric cooking could be both viable and affordable in these countries.
Many countries have high GMA scores and the need to transition but ability to pay may be a challenge, as many people cook using cheap or freely gathered fuels (e.g. firewood, and/or waste from animals or crops). These include: China, India, Laos, Bangladesh, Nepal, Kenya, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Nigeria, Serbia, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Rwanda and the Philippines.
In many cases a national grid supported scale up of electric cooking needs to be coupled with decarbonisation of generation infrastructure. For a transition to electric cooking to have the most positive impact in terms of reducing air pollution and CO2 emissions, it needs to be supported by increased investment in, and focus on, renewable electricity generation which is already often cheaper than generation from fossil fuels.
Recommendations
A national grid supported transition to electric cooking (particularly when transitioning from fossil fuels e.g. LPG) needs to be coupled with decarbonisation of electricity grids.
Efforts to improve access, reliability and strength of national grid, mini-grid and off-grid electrical infrastructure must accelerate and integrate electric cooking where possible.
Electrification needs to be coupled with accurate, up-to-date datasets on tier of access, cooking fuels and costs.
More globally complete data is needed around other cooking fuels (e.g. cooking fuel prices for charcoal, LPG and kerosene) to provide comparison with electric cooking.
Contextual understanding – food preferences, cooking practices, fuel/device stacking – is an essential component around which further work is needed to most effectively accelerate the scale up electric cooking.
Expansion of data gathering around electric cooking for RISE and others would improve opportunities.
For more information
- Please read the GMA report.
- Access the detailed spreadsheet tool, upon which the online GMA tool is based. This allows users to change individual indicator weightings, as well as explore all the data sets used in the methodology.
- Read the accompanying blog which provides an overview of the GMA and summarises the GMA findings.
- Read the blog which summarises GMA insights for sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.