India’s ongoing LPG shortage, which was sparked by the war in Iran, revealed the nation’s dependence on imported fuel.
Alok Kumar, former secretary of the Union Ministry of Power, India, who is now the DG of All India Discoms Association, said .
The government should take up this issue as part of its mission. Not only will it reduce the dependence on imports, but the whole energy transition relies heavily on electrification.
He added, “Electrification is essential to achieving net zero and long-term emissions reduction.”
India launched several campaigns to raise awareness, such as the “Go Electric” campaign that began in 2021. The goal of the campaign is to encourage the use electric cars and appliances in the home.
Experts note, however, that efforts are still not at the level needed to have a significant impact.
The Iran War exposed India’s severe LPG import dependency
In recent decades, India has become increasingly dependent on imported liquefied petrol gas (LPG).
At present, 60% of LPG requirements are met by external sources, and the country spends approximately $26.4 billion on LPG imports each year.
Due to the conflict, 90 percent of imports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This is the crucial passageway for 20 percent of world crude oil supplies.
The Indian Ministry of Shipping reports that 22 ships flying the Indian flag are stranded on the Persian Gulf waiting for passage through the Strait. They have 1.67 millions tonnes crude oil, about 320,000 tonnes LPG, and approximately 200,000 tonnes LNG.
Restaurants and eateries have been hit hard by the crisis, as they struggle to obtain cylinders and are forced to reduce their offerings.
During the height of the crisis, last week some restaurants were forced to close temporarily and LPG supplies ran out.
While induction cooktops were flying off the shelves, consumers queued up at gas stations across the nation.
On Wednesday, the Indian Government noted that Liquefied Petroleum Gas is still a concern and provided an extra 10% of LPG commercial allocation to States and Union Territories.
The adoption and use of electronic cooking in India, including the factors that limit its usage
According to the Indian Residential Energy Survey conducted in 2020 only 5% households in India use any type of electric appliance for cooking.
In urban India, the usage of eCooking (10%) is much higher than rural India (3%).
Adoption rates for e-cooking were six times greater among those in the highest decile of wealth than those at the lowest.
Moreover, a study found that in homes that use e-cooking the primary fuel (LPG or LNG) hasn’t been substituted, but rather complemented.
Kumar says that “electric cooking requires a great deal of behavioral change and is therefore more challenging work.”
Electric cooking is not widely used for many reasons.
Included are high appliance upfront costs, changes in cooking habits, concerns about reliable electricity, and gaps between repair and maintenance services.
In India, the average cost of an induction single burner stove ranges between Rs 1,500 and Rs 3,000.
Models with high power (2000W+) range between Rs2,500 and Rs4,000, or even more. They offer faster cooking as well as advanced features.
In addition to purchasing an induction cooker, households must also invest in cookware that is compatible with this type of stove.
Purva Jain is the lead energy specialist for gas and international advocacy in South Asia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. She points out, however, that induction cooking has a gap in both terms of pricing and design.
E-cooking costs less than PNG/LPG, according to a study
However, some studies show that LPG and LNG are more expensive than e-cooking in the long run.
Electric cooking, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), is increasingly popular in cities and periurban areas.
The annual cost of cooking with LPG, PNG or electric is estimated to be INR 6,800-6900 at current prices.
The cost-savings continue even with moderate increases in the electricity rates.
Source : CSE
A study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment in 2023 showed that the costs of owning and cooking using electricity were about 20% less than those of LPG over five and ten year periods, though they were comparable for the first one.
The study found that e-cooking is 17% less expensive than LPG after five years and 20% cheaper in 10 years. The study cautioned that the projections had not taken into account rising gas prices and inflation.
Grid impact and potential solutions
The fact that e-cooking will increase demand for power can be a major concern. Even if commercial and household users are willing to use this method of cooking, upgrades to the grid infrastructure may be needed to handle the extra load.
The distribution network will have to deal with a higher peak load. “E-cooking doesn’t envisage storage of solar energy because it would be very expensive to store it and use it later for ecooking,” Kumar explains.
Kumar says that to combat this problem, some of the demand during peak hours could be moved to hours when solar power is not available through tariff incentives. This would allow electric cooking to compete against air conditioning in the evening.
We will also have to take parallel steps to improve demand management, such as demand flexibility and shifting some loads from non-solar sources to solar. He says that India is a solar-heavy country, so if the demand for battery storage does not change, it will get very costly.
What are the advantages of electric energy for India?
The Indian government encourages both commercial and household users to switch to piped natural gas (PNG) in lieu of induction cooking.
Centre announces it will increase commercial LPG allocation for States that agree to reforms to boost PNG penetration from 20% to 30%.
PNG is being encouraged to be adopted more widely, especially in areas with infrastructure.
Nearly half of India’s domestic PNG is domestic gas, which comes from companies like ONGC or Reliance, who drill onshore and off-shore fields.
LNG is imported to make up the balance.
India will be one of the largest buyers of LNG in 2025 with imports estimated at 24-25 millions tonnes.
India has also been affected by the conflict, as the Strait of Hormuz blockade is already interrupting gas supplies.
The situation is worsening after Iran struck Qatar’s infrastructure for energy at the Ras Laffan Industrial City, just hours after Israel attacked Iran’s South Pars Gas Field, which was the world’s biggest natural gas reserve.
India imports roughly 20 percent of its natural-gas from Qatar. This has raised concerns about supply.
Jain says that switching to gas is not the most effective way to address the problem of energy security.
Jain told that LPG and LNG have been volatile for at least the last five years. He added that this volatility was present even before Covid-19.
Gas was most volatile in 2024 according to an analyst who says that they conducted a two-year analysis, looking at commodities such as gold, the NASDAQ index, oil and gas.
She says that even in times of geopolitical peace, the gas is volatile. That’s its nature.
The transition from LPG gas to electric would not solve our problems with energy security, subsidies, affordability etc. “But switching to electric is a better option, because it’s more cost-effective, energy-efficient, and gives us energy security,” said she.
India’s Electric Vehicle Transition: Lessons Learned
Jain believes that the success of EVs in India is due to a strong government policy. He also attributes it to lower operating costs compared with conventional fuels.
In India, a similar combination of factors would also be able to position electric cooking as an acceptable cooking fuel.
According to data from Vahan Portal, the India Energy Storage Alliance’s (IESA) Annual Report on India EV Market for 2025 shows that the electric vehicle market in India has reached a significant milestone. Total EV sales have now reached 2.3 millions units. This represents 8% of new car registrations.
It is far behind India’s goal of 30% EVs in total sales for passenger vehicles by FY 2030.
India has done very well in the adoption of EVs, I’d say. “In less than 10 years, we’ve seen good numbers. This is an important achievement.” Jain says. He attributes the success to a clear policy, such as incentives on both sides of the supply and demand equation, and to awareness campaigns.
FAME India, a scheme that was launched in 2015 and ended in 2024 to promote early market adoption and infrastructure development, as well as incentives for demand and local manufacturing, played a key role in this regard.
FAME II, launched in April 2019 focuses on electric public transport and shared vehicles.
It happened because it was a combination of things that came together to make it happen. When I compared them, I also said that electric cooking requires a number of factors to come together in order to work. It’s an economic solution.
Jain’s study, published by IEEFA recommends the introduction of a scheme similar to FAME. This could be focused on creating a market, for example, by offering demand incentives and by lowering upfront costs.
The study states that a policy promoting ecooking commercially could be just as beneficial for electric vehicles, similar to how the PM-eBus Sewa and state policies were helpful.
The government has run a number of awareness campaigns to promote the use of EVs and the advantages they bring. This helped in some way with the transitional challenges.
Public awareness campaigns and demonstrations are needed to extend this understanding to electronic cooking.
The way to actionable initiatives
Experts agree that urban India will be the first market for e-cooking. Within urban India the focus should begin with commercial and community spaces as implementing change in a home is difficult.
Kumar says, “I think we should first promote electric cooking for community kitchens and Anganwadis. It is a large demand, so it makes sense to invest in it.”
Even restaurants could have a dual-cooking arrangement (of LPG/LNG, and e-cooking), as the equipment was not expensive. He said that they could use electric cooking in solar hours during the day, when power is plentiful, to make the process cheaper. In the evenings, however, the mix of energy sources would be used.
Jain says that he agrees, and mandates can be given to commercial kitchens, anganwadis and government schools, where meals are provided at midday, as well as larger institutions such hospitals.
She mentions adopting some international practices.
In 2023, New York will be the first US state to prohibit the use of fossil fuels and natural gas in new construction. Officials hope that this ban will promote the use more environmentally friendly appliances like induction cookers.
The government can work with developers to ensure that electric cooking is the default option in all new developments. She says that such mandates will lead to a massive uptake.
The best thing is, in the long term, we are looking to green the grid and increase the deployment of renewable sources of energy. She says that India has already begun to work quickly on deploying clean energy.
Experts say that now is a good time to make investments in R&D for electric cooker manufacturers and develop more energy efficient solutions.
To ensure smoother transition, it is also important to improve the after-sales service.
Can electric cooking protect India from future supply shocks after the LPG Crisis? This article may change as new information becomes available
