Kenya Power has big dreams—they want to turn over 500,000 Kenyan kitchens into electric cooking havens, a significant jump from the current 90,000. That’s right, they are going all-in on the electric culinary experience.
Joseph Siror, Kenya Power’s Managing Director (MD) and CEO, shared this electrifying plan during the launch of the Global eCooking Coalition (GeCCo) at the Africa Climate Week in Nairobi. It seems they are putting their energy into changing the way Kenyans cook.
Traditionally, electricity in Kenyan households has been seen as the pricey option when it comes to cooking. People might have an electric kettle or microwave, but when it comes to the real cooking, it’s all about the trusty liquefied petroleum gas or wood fuel. But wait, there’s a plot twist.
According to Siror, recent studies have shown that electricity isn’t just for boiling water or reheating leftovers. Apparently, there’s a whole untapped world of e-cooking just waiting to be discovered in Kenya. It’s like they just found out their microwave can do more than just reheat pizza.
Believe it or not, only a measly one percent of electricity customers in Kenya use it for cooking. Most people are still hanging out with their wood fuel and gas stoves. But don’t worry, Kenya Power is here to change that.
Enter GeCCo, the Global eCooking Coalition. It sounds like a secret society for cooking enthusiasts, but it’s actually an initiative to get people to ditch their traditional cooking methods and embrace the electric revolution. It’s a coalition made up of various organizations with fancy names like the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and Energizing Development (EnDev). They’ve all teamed up to turn Kenyan kitchens into electric wonderlands.
Kenya Power is ready to roll up its sleeves (or maybe plug in its cords) and work with these partners to spread the e-cooking gospel across the country. They’ve even got friends in high places, like the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS), the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), and the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya (CCAK), all on board to champion e-cooking in various counties.
To make sure everyone gets the memo, Kenya Power has kicked off the “Pika na Power” public awareness campaign. They want Kenyans to know that there’s more to electricity than just lighting up rooms—it can also light up your kitchen.
They’re going the extra mile by setting up demonstration centers in Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Mombasa. It’s like an electric cooking show, and they’re hoping it’ll be a hit nationwide. So, if you ever thought your electric bill was shocking, get ready for a whole new level of electricity in your kitchen.
