EnDev is currently exploring the potential electric cooking within Community Rural Electrification Entity (CREE) in Nepal with coordination with Practical Action, Ajummery Bikash Foundation (ABF) and the National Association of Community Electricity Users Nepal (NACEUN). The Government of Nepal has the ambition that every household will possess one electric cookstove by 2030 and is committed to provide reliable and affordable electricity access to promote electric cooking. The idea behind is to gradually replace imported LPG in the longer run resulting in reduced trade deficit from fossil fuel imports. To reach this goal, the Nepal Electricity Authority invests into distribution system reinforcement. Similarly, the Community Electricity bylaws provision CREEs to upgrade their transformers and conductors to be able to cater the increasing expected electricity use and to avoid any technical constraints from the supply side.
ABF/NACEUN implemented 'Market-led Promotion of Electric Cooking in Timal CREE', with funding support from GIZ/EnDev Nepal. 569 electric induction cooktops were deployed during the course of the project, the project has facilitated in distribution of induction cooktop through the local electrifying entity, the Timal CREE to the local community of the Timal rural municipality and the pilot project was completed in February 2020.
The overall objective of the project was to assess:
- CREE’s effectiveness in the promotion and demand creation for electric stoves,
- the impact of increased use of electric stoves on the existing CREE-managed electricity supply system and,
- social acceptance and relevance of electric stoves to Timal CREE community.
The project interventions were designed contributed to:
- promotion and demand creation
- accessibility of product package
- creating enabling environment
- sustained and correct use of electric cooking
- technical and behavior change monitoring
Experiences from the field
A pleased couple using induction cooktop with extra care
“Me and my wife are highly satisfied with the performance of the induction cooktop. We are thankful to all the project partners and participants involved who provided us the cooktop. The induction must be handled with care so I personally made a wooden box to safeguard it from physical damage. Moreover, we have shut down the firewood stove and started cooking almost every meal in the induction. I believe that if this induction cooktop comes with multiple cooking hub; it will soon replace other mechanism.”
