Sierra Leone Telegraph: 22 September 2024:
The UK Government, in partnership with the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, launched a £5million clean cooking programme to support clean cooking. The two-year programme has three major components:
Establish a high-impact Clean Cooking Unit in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development through the Global Green Growth Institute. This will drive the national clean cooking ambition, lead the effective coordination of the clean cooking sector, and attract more financing for action into this sector.
Secondly, through ICLEI Africa (Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa) support urban authorities within the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA) in their role as enablers of market-led clean cooking access to deliver solutions for at least 6,000 households (30,000 people) within the informal settlements.
Additionally, support the development of scalable business models to address barriers to clean cooking access, enabling deployment of context-appropriate clean cooking technologies in some of the hardest to reach markets.
And finally, through Modern Energy Cooking Services Program (MECS) expand a nationwide sustainable supply chain of at least 10,000 high quality electric cooking appliances; train at least 600 Ugandan technicians in the repair and maintenance of efficient electric cooking appliances; develop a national standards and labelling programme, and pilot institutional electric cooking in 100 schools across the country.
This programme builds on a successful innovative research pilots led by UK’s Loughborough University in partnership with the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) focusing on modern energy cooking services (MECS).
The programme represents significant opportunities towards sustainable energy solutions, improved health, environmental conservation, household budget savings, convenience and saved time to engage in other productive activities.
We have taken deliberate action in the electric cooking sector, based on the evidence that the technology, more especially the Electric Pressure Cookers (EPC) work. This cutting-edge technology is set to revolutionize cooking by combining convenience, efficiency, and versatility, allowing users at household, institutional and business levels to prepare delicious meals faster, safely and in a cleaner environment.
The EPC is designed to meet the needs of today’s busy households and has the capacity to cook for larger institutions. With its advanced technology and user-friendly features, it offers an unparalleled cooking experience, making it easier than ever to enjoy home-cooked meals. Some of the features of the product include:
- fast and efficient cooking: the EPC reduces cooking time by up to 50% while preserving the nutrients and flavours of favourite meals
- safety: reduces health hazards such as burns, pollution from other cooking methods ensuring a worry-free cooking experience
- eco-friendly: designed to be energy-efficient, it helps reduce electricity consumption, making it an environmentally conscious choice for the kitchen
- energy and cost savings: the EPC combines automation, robust insulation and pressurised cooking to deliver up to 50% savings on energy and cost
The programme will promote the use of other energy efficient electric cooking devices such as induction cookers, which equally save time, money and energy needed to cook meals and are versatile in preparing local meals.
With support from the UK Government, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development developed a National eCooking strategy that sets out the plan to promote adoption of eCooking from 1% today to 18% by 2030 (both grid and off-grid).
Beyond the above, this will deliver additional benefits including improving the Asset Turnover Ratio for investments in the electricity (grid, mini-grid and off-grid) sector.
The launch today featured live cooking demonstrations and exclusive offers for the unusual partners. In addition to our key stakeholders, food enthusiasts, home cooks, and media representatives were invited to witness the culinary experience.
Kate Airey, the British High Commissioner to Uganda said: “Clean energy is a UK priority. Our goal with promotion of Efficient Electric Cooking is to simplify the cooking process, minimise potential cooking hazards while supporting Uganda’s energy and climate action goals. We believe that these products will become essential tools in kitchens as electricity becomes more available across Uganda, helping families enjoy technology efficiencies while saving time and money; safeguarding their health; and contributing to environmental conservation.”
Dr. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, Minister for Energy added: “We thank the UK Government and other partners for supporting Uganda to promote clean cooking. The launch of this programme marks a significant milestone in our journey, being the first such programme dedicated to eCooking. The programme will aim to address barriers, develop evidence and contribute to the development of the eCooking industry. Already our traditional cooking solutions – firewood and charcoal are increasingly becoming scarce and unaffordable.
“Therefore, the imperative to have alternative and affordable cleaner cooking solutions, which are available at scale, has never been more important. This is why the Government through my Ministry is now championing this cause, which at the broader and strategic level, embodies our commitment to Vision 2040, Agenda 2030 and environmental stewardship.”
Following the launch, a behaviour change campaign will be rolled out to accelerate eCooking adoption, developed collaboratively by the National Renewable Energy Platform (NREP) and key stakeholders. The awareness campaign will include outreach in schools, cultural and religious institutions, and public spaces; engaging with media; developing an eCooking mobile app for consumers on appliances, distributors, repair, etc.
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