Electric Pressure Cooker (EPC)

Piloting innovative business delivery models for accelerating uptake of efficient electric cooking appliances Project.

Existing strategies are struggling to solve the problem of unsustainable, unhealthy but enduring cooking practices which place a particular burden on women.

After decades of investments in improving biomass cooking, focused largely on increasing the efficiency of biomass use in domestic stoves, the technologies developed have had limited impact on development outcomes.

The multiple problems caused by biomass-based cooking, which affect 3 billion people in low income countries, result in 4 million premature deaths annually (which is more than the combined deaths by Malaria, HIV and TB, WHO 20181Fi), contribute to climate change and cause loss of economic opportunity.

Piloting innovative business delivery models for accelerating uptake of efficient electric cooking appliances is a project which aim to test business model for distribution of efficient Electric Pressure Cooker (EPC) and rice cooker in grid connected community in urban area of Morogoro region in Tanzania.

It also focuses to use TrekAMP device to monitor the use of electric appliances in the study community to inform the development of Result Based Finance and Carbon Finance Mechanisms. Among others the project will monitor and document the community users' impressions and responses to the EPC.

Support services including awareness raising, demonstration and training on use and after sale services will be offered to the community.  The project is implemented by SESCOM in partnership with Tanzania Forestry Research Institute (TAFORI) and NEXLEAF Analyticsa non-profit technology company based in Los Angeles, California.

Some of the key project activities include:-

• Introduction of the project to the study community, demonstration and awareness raising on EPC
• Conduct Cooking Diary Study with the aim to understand
  • Whether EPCs fit the cultural processes of cooking for residents of Morogoro Municipal and,
  • Whether EPCs fit with the electricity delivery in Morogoro Municipal?
• Partnering with micro financing institution (MFI) on recovery of the appliance costs and operationalization of the revolving funds
• Linking community with MFI to acquire EPCs on flexible payments.
• Train households on use and maintenance of EPCs
• Train technicians on provision of after sale services
• Monitor the use of EPCs, document lessons and share project findings

Key deliverables of the project

• Report on performance and effectiveness of the business model for EPCs distribution
• Data and report on EPCs users impression and responses -cooking behaviour, including indicators on EPC use, other cookstove use, and fuel stacking

Outcomes of the pilot study will form basis for scaling up the efforts of promoting a thriving market of EPCs in Tanzania.

This project is one of 14 projects implemented under the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) Electric Cooking Outreach (ECO) challenge fund. The MECS ECO challenge fund forms a core component of the £39.8 million MECS programme, funded by UK Aid and jointly managed by Loughborough University and the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP). 

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