Globally, 2.8 billion people still cook with biomass, resulting in health, environmental, and social challenges; electric cooking is a key option for a transition to modern energy cooking services. However, electric cooking is assumed to be too expensive, grids can be unreliable and the connection capacity of mini-grids and solar home systems is widely assumed to be insufficient. Developments in higher performance and lower cost batteries and solar photovoltaics can help, but they raise questions of affordability and environmental impacts. The range of issues is wide, and existing studies do not capture them coherently. A new suite of models is outlined that represents the technical, economic, human, and environmental benefits and impacts of delivering electric cooking services, with a life-cycle perspective. This paper represents the first time this diverse range of approaches has been brought together. The paper illustrates their use through combined application to case studies for transitions of households from traditional fuels to electric cooking: for urban grid-connected households in Zambia; for mini-grid connected households in Tanzania; and for off-grid households in Kenya. The results show that electric cooking can be cost-effective, and they demonstrate overall reductions in human and ecological impacts but point out potential impact ‘hotspots’. The network analysis shows that electric cooking can be accommodated to a significant extent on existing grids, due partly to diversity effects in the nature and timing of cooking practices.

This paper lays out a methodology that could be used by mini-grid developers to assess the design readiness and future design requirement to accommodate electric cooking (eCook). While mini-grids in developing countries continue to grow in popularity, typically their designs are not yet sufficiently developed to accommodate large power appliances. Moving towards clean cooking using electricity will cause technical risks for mini-grids in terms of voltage drop, voltage unbalances and capacity shortage. In this paper, these parameters are studied on a mini-grid network modeled in OpenDSS/MATLAB as a simulation platform, where the selected mini-grid topology is hub and spoke. Two network studies are considered, the first investigates the limitations of the mini-grid in terms of the generation capacity available to supply the demand for different levels of eCook penetration, while the second focuses on the network constraints for different eCook penetrations. In general, the results show that voltage drop and voltage imbalance issues can be reasonably and affordably addressed by using cables of a larger cross-sectional area. The main issue prohibiting higher penetrations of eCook centre on generation capacity requirements, which led to a techno-economic analysis being conducted to assess future mini-grid sizes as well as targeting economic and environmental objectives and meeting the overall demand on a generically representative mini-grid in a rural region in East Africa. The discussion section in this paper highlights the main barriers to the accommodation of eCook on rural mini-grids and presents suggestions for future work that addresses new design specifications for the next generation of eCook mini-grids.

In this paper, eCook batteries are considered to be synonymous with those electric cooking devices (eCook), such as electric pressure cookers, induction cookers, hotplates or rice cookers, that can be connected to and supplied from a battery, which may or may not be fully integrated within the device. Connecting many eCook batteries can have an impact on the operation of a hybrid photovoltaic (PV)/diesel mini-grid network unless managed appropriately. The network could experience voltage fluctuations, system power losses and increased peak demand if all or most of the connected eCook batteries charge during a relatively “narrow” window of sunlight hours. Hence, this paper focuses on maximizing the number of eCook devices accommodated by the mini-grid, in keeping with increased consumer uptake, by regulating the charging rate (C-rate) of the eCook batteries themselves. The impact of varying the C-rate on the network constraints is assessed through a range of contextualized case studies. This entailed modeling an innovative smart eCook battery management system (EBMS) that actively monitors the state of the grid and decides on the eCook’s battery C-rate set-point required to address the network constraints. The results demonstrate that the EBMS can alleviate the impact of conventional eCook battery charging on the mini-grid network, as well as increase the quality of the charging service.

Cooking with electricity (eCook) in low-and-middle-income developing countries is still an expensive option compared to using conventional fuels such as charcoal and firewood, so there is a need to identify solutions to make it affordable for all in line with the targets of SDG7. The initial aim of this paper is to understand and provide a comparative analysis of the cooking energy costs through a range of contextualized cooking scenarios—when cooking either with conventional fuels (e.g., charcoal, firewood) or with eCook appliances (e.g., electric pressure cookers (EPC) or hotplates), that are connected to and supplied from an integrated or portable battery (eCook battery). The cooking cost for the eCook cooking scenarios is assessed with and without fuel stacking where a degree of eCook exists alongside other conventional fuels. These studies offer a more realistic concept of the cooking practice to characterize the best fit for cooking scenarios and the main factors required to close the gap between the energy cost of conventional fuel and eCook batteries. The results suggest that to close the affordability gap between firewood and battery-based eCook, three main factors must be considered when estimating the cooking cost: the non-market cost of firewood; ensuring a low mini-grid tariff that is within range of the national grid tariff; and using an optimal eCook battery size with the capability to meet the required demand. In fact, when taking these factors into account; for the 2022 analysis, cooking 100% using an eCook battery is in a range of USD 29–30/month implying that there could be an opportunity for parity when the firewood cost reaches USD 29/month. The same applies to the cooking prediction costs for 2030, reducing further to USD 20–21/month. However, if the firewood is harvested sustainably, ensuring it is high in quality and dry, it would be difficult for battery eCook to compete. It should be emphasized that this research has relevance for governments, practitioners, and researchers.