KATHMANDU, Nov 25: With LP gas still hard to find, consumers in urban centers, particularly Kathmandu Valley, have switched to electricity to cook food. People are buying induction stoves as well as electric cooking heaters made of clay as a substitute for LP gas stove.
Experts have welcomed the use of such cookers as they are energy efficient and are also cost effective compared to LPG. Energy expert Amrit Man Nakarmi said that consumers using electrical cooking appliances will pay less than what they pay for LPG. He also said the change in consumer behavior indicates that LP gas consumption will not go up in the fast pace like in the past.
Energy experts say use of LPG as cooking fuel will fall gradually once Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower starts generation in 2017.
"Monthly electricity tariff for using induction stoves to prepare two meals a day is cheaper by about Rs 200 compared to LP gas," Nakarmi said. According to Nakarmi, monthly cost of preparing food in induction stove comes at around Rs 810, while the cost of cooking with LP gas is above Rs 1,000.
Nakarmi further added that expenditure on at least two cylinders adds more cost on LPG while one time purchase of such cookers, which generally last for ten years, is definitely cheaper. Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has announced to end load-shedding within a year. But hydropower developers and even government officials say it is not possible.
Induction stove costs around Rs 5,000. But its price is expected to fall once supply becomes normal. Price of induction stove was between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,500 before the Tarai unrest began.
Nepal imports Rs 25 billion worth of LP gas annually. Experts say it can be reduced by promoting use of induction stoves.
Prakash Shrestha, director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), many people have turned to electricity to prepare meals. "Poor people choose electric heaters made of clay while well off people are buying induction stoves," he said.
Bhuwan K Chhetri, chief of Load Dispatch Center of NEA, said that they were trying to provide electricity during peak hours by storing water during daytime in projects like Kaligandaki A, Middle Marshyangdi and Marshyangdi. "We have appealed to consumers not to use other electrical appliances and water pumps during peak hours," he added.
Peak hour demand stands at around 1220 MW, according to NEA officials.
Chhetri also said induction stoves also can cook food faster. "Use of induction stoves will also push NEA's electricity demand forecast," Chhetri said.
Nakarmi said NEA has to revise its conservative demand forecast which doesn't take into account use of electricity as cooking fuel.
NEA had encouraged consumers to use electric heaters to prepare food in 1980s and again in 2002 after Kaligandaki 'A' started power generation. But people were reluctant to use electric heaters in kitchen as it was fairly expensive compared to LPG and other cooking fuels.
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