Kenya National Electric Cooking Study and Strategy (KNeCS)

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project details

Research Area

Energy Access

Project Status

Completed

Start Date

2023

Project Team

Elsie Onsongo

Rosebella Nyumba

Project Overview

The transition to modern and clean cooking is a global agenda, with different countries setting their targets for achieving the same. Kenya aims to achieve its clean cooking targets by 2028. One of the pathways to achieving clean cooking envisioned in Kenya is the adoption and uptake of electric cooking by households. In Kenya, 75% of the households are connected to electricity. However, only 1% of the population currently uses electricity as their primary fuel for cooking.  

In order to accelerate the adoption of electric cooking, NUVONI facilitated the development of the Kenya National Electric Cooking Strategy (KNeCS). KNeCS focuses on how energy-efficient eCooking technologies can be scaled-up in Kenya with the intended impacts of minimising the drudgery and health risks associated with the use of solid fuels for cooking, improving environmental sustainability, and stimulating growth in demand for electricity.

The strategy was developed through a consultative process that involved:

The KNeCS Baseline Study (2023)

This national baseline study on eCooking was conducted between December 2022 and June 2023, to analyse the status of eCooking in Kenya. Specifically, the study examined the state of household electrification and access to clean cooking, in particular eCooking appliance adoption and usage, household cooking practices, the supply chain for eCooking appliances, and the enabling policy environment for eCooking in Kenya.

The study used a mixed-method approach to investigate eCooking in Kenya.

A desk review analysed previous national survey reports, academic literature, industry reports, and policy documents to understand the status quo of eCooking in Kenya and to identify data gaps. It also informed the survey design.
The household survey study followed a nationally representative sampling approach, whereby cluster analysis divided Kenya’s 47 counties into 8 archetypal groups based on variables like population density, household size, grid connectivity, and regional attributes. Two outlier counties were also included, making it a total of 10 clusters for the study. A total of 2432 households were sampled. Post-stratification was implemented to achieve unbiased statistical estimates and enable the generalisation of survey results nationally, and adjustments to the weights were made accordingly.
Focus Group Discussions complemented the survey in four counties representing different market segments: Bungoma, Kilifi, Nairobi and Garissa. The FGDs elucidated rich insights, particularly on communities’ attitudes, belief systems, norms and values about cooking in general and eCooking.
Expert knowledge was obtained through in-depth semi-structured interviews with relevant individuals and organisations active in eCooking or the broader electrification or clean cooking sectors. Interviews were conducted with policy actors, retailers of eCooking appliances, energy technology companies, development partners, parastatals, research institutes, energy sector utilities, and the regulator.

The outcome of this process was the KNeCS Baseline Study Report

Modelling of the eCooking transition Scenarios

This endeavour proposed a series of scenarios, among them a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario, Net Zero scenarios, a Stated Policies scenario, and the eCooking Transition, modelling the likely uptake under each scenario and the respective impact of new eCooking demand on the electricity grid.

The modelling effort for KNeCS utilised two major tools:

OSeMOSYS is a comprehensive energy modelling tool used for scenario analysis. In this context, it was employed to forecast trends in energy demand and fuel shares between 2019 and 2050, producing insights from the four scenarios. OSeMOSYS utilises a bottom-up approach to simulate and analyse energy systems, considering various supply-side and demand-side factors to determine the most efficient energy mix.
The BAR-HAP (Benefits of Action to Reduce Household Air Pollution) tool was used to complement OSeMOSYS by modelling fuel stacking, transitions from traditional fuels to eCooking, and the associated costs and benefits. BAR-HAP provided detailed insights into the financial costs of adopting eCooking at both the household and the government level, as well as the potential benefits in terms of time savings, improved public health, and reduced emissions.

The eCooking Transition Scenario, identified as the most feasible intervention, served as the foundational blueprint for the Kenya National Electric Cooking Strategy. Further, this work will support Kenya’s energy planning process, both in the short term via the Medium-Term Plan, and longer-term via the Least Cost Power Development Plan, by supporting the projection of demand growth from eCooking. Here NUVONI collaborated with the Climate Compatible Growth programme (UK), along with contributions made by the team from the KTH Institute (Sweden) and the World Resources Institute (Kenya).

Development of the national eCooking Strategy

The strategy provides a roadmap for building the foundation for a sustainable eCooking marketplace in the next five years, which can then enable an accelerated scale-up over the next two decades to facilitate the Net Zero transition. The strategy describes a pathway to support 10% of households to transition to eCooking by 2028, enabling electricity to become the cooking fuel of choice for Kenyans by 2050. The strategy outlines a mix of interventions categorised into 3 key objectives:

The strategy development process was overseen by a technical working group (TWG), which was co-chaired by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (MoEP) and the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme and comprised of representatives from various government ministries, non-governmental organisations, national institutions, the private sector, academia, sectoral associations and development partners.