Its cheaper to cook with electricity than gas in Kenya: Survey

It is cheaper to cook with electricity than gas in Kenya, a new survey has established.

The survey by the Kenya Renewable Energy Association (KEREA) dubbed the KEREA Energy Price Index established the true cost of energy in Kenya.

While almost every energy type sells on its own unit of sale, all energy types are broken down into kilowatt-hours to come up with the ranking by cost.

According to the highlights of the survey, it is cheaper to cook with grid electricity for domestic and small commercial users than cook with the three kilogram LPG cylinder.

At the same time, it is cheaper to use the first 100 units of electricity on the domestic tariff for cooking than using LPG in the six, 13, 22.5 or even 50-kilogram cylinder measures.

The index quantifies the average cost of the grid electricity tariffs at Ksh.15.30 per kilowatt-hour (Kwh) and that of fossil fuels at Ksh.15.52.

The average cost of using renewable sources of energy sold in Kenya is meanwhile estimated at Ksh.5.09/Kwh with solar being the cheapest cost of electricity during the day at Ksh.2.40/Kwh.

KEREA has recommended the setting of a time of day tariff for domestic consumers to encourage cooking with electricity while propping electricity sales in the off-peak period.

“By introducing a time-of-day tariff for domestic consumers, people can be encouraged to cook during off-peak hours using electricity and they can reduce their costs while increasing sales for the utility by increasing off-peak sales to the domestic market,” noted KEREA CEO Andrew Amadi.

Further, KEREA says the new energy price index based on true energy costs serves to demystify the perception of renewable energy being costlier where the cost of generation is usually paid up front.