Electric Cooking Solutions in India: Future of Clean Kitchens

Context

• India spends $26.4 billion annually on LPG imports, mostly transported through the Strait of Hormuz. Despite having 332 million LPG connections, around 37% of households still rely on firewood and dung.
• With electric cooking now cheaper than unsubsidised LPG, scaling up electrified kitchens could reduce import dependence, though it raises concerns about grid capacity, costs, and managing rising electricity demand.

Gas-Based Clean Cooking Faces Affordability and Import Challenges

• India rapidly expanded LPG access from 150 million connections in 2015 to 332 million by 2025, but the model relies heavily on imports.
• The country imports about 60% of its LPG and 50% of its natural gas, pushing the combined import bill to $26.4 billion in FY 2024–25, according to IEEFA.
• This growing dependence makes Indian households vulnerable to price shocks from geopolitical tensions in West Asia, indicating that gas-based clean cooking has reached an affordability and sustainability limit.
• Electric Cooking vs Gas: Cost and Efficiency Comparison
  • Studies indicate that electric cooking is cheaper than gas-based cooking.
  • An IEEFA analysis found electric cooking to be 37% cheaper than non-subsidised LPG and 14% cheaper than piped natural gas for a typical urban household.
• Electric cooking technologies are significantly more efficient. Induction cooktops transfer about 85% of energy to the vessel, compared with around 40% efficiency for LPG burners.
  • Electric pressure cookers are also among the most energy-efficient devices.

Challenges for Indian Cooking Practices

• Indian cooking often requires multiple pots and simultaneous preparation, making single-plate induction stoves insufficient.
• Experts suggest developing multi-pot and flame-replicating induction technologies to improve adoption.
• Policy experts recommend starting electrification in urban kitchens, which would reduce LPG demand and allow limited gas supplies to support rural households lacking reliable electricity.

Concerns About Grid Capacity

• Large-scale adoption of electric cooking could increase evening electricity demand.
• This raises concerns about grid stability and power supply management if millions of households shift to electric appliances simultaneously.

Understanding Peak Electricity Demand

• Electricity demand fluctuates during the day, rising sharply during certain hours when households simultaneously use appliances such as lights, fans, televisions, and air conditioners.
  • These surges are called peak demand periods.
• India’s peak electricity demand has grown significantly, increasing from 148 GW in 2014 to a record 242.5 GW in December 2025.
  • According to the IEA, every 1°C rise in temperature can increase peak demand by over 7 GW.
• Impact of Mass Electric Cooking on the Grid
  • If millions of households adopt induction cooktops simultaneously during evening peaks, electricity demand could rise sharply, increasing spot-market costs and the risk of grid instability.
  • To avoid grid stress while expanding electric cooking, experts suggest automated demand response systems, which help manage electricity consumption intelligently during peak demand periods.
• Rooftop Solar and Local Energy Trading to Reduce Grid Stress
  • A rooftop solar system combined with battery storage can turn households into prosumers—both producers and consumers of electricity.
  • Solar panels generate power during the day, store surplus energy in batteries, and use it later during evening peak demand.
  • Using stored solar energy in the evening can offset the surge in electricity demand that may occur if millions of households adopt electric cooking simultaneously.
• Growth of Rooftop Solar in India
  • India’s rooftop solar capacity is expected to increase from 24 GW in 2026 to over 41 GW by 2030.
• This is supported by initiatives like the PM-Surya Ghar Yojana, which aims to provide free electricity to millions of households.
• Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading
  • Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading allows households to sell surplus solar electricity directly to neighbours through digital platforms, reducing reliance on traditional distribution companies.
  • India’s first blockchain-based P2P solar trading pilot in Lucknow enabled real-time energy trading through smart contracts and reduced energy purchase costs by about 43%.
  • When neighbourhoods share solar energy locally, evening electricity peaks decline, distribution companies avoid expensive power purchases, and communities effectively function as micro-level virtual power plants.

Read: Daily Current Affairs

Policy Steps for Electrifying India’s Kitchens

• India has already begun promoting electric cooking through initiatives such as:
  • Go Electric campaign,
  • National Efficient Cooking Programme,
  • Star labelling for induction cooktops by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), and rooftop solar incentives under PM-Surya Ghar Yojana.

To accelerate adoption, experts suggest measures such as redirecting part of the LPG subsidy toward induction cooktop subsidies, expanding bulk procurement models through EESL, and implementing time-of-use electricity tariffs.

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