- National eCooking campaign poised to promote clean energy usage.
- UK International Development backs Tanzania’s eCooking initiative.
- Electric stoves to be manufactured in country from July 2025.
Tanzania has launched its first ever national ecooking awareness campaign in a bid to accelerate the country’s shift from traditional biomass based cooking to modern electric cooking. Backed by the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) and with funding from the UK International Development, this ground-breaking initiative is part of the UKAid-funded MECS eCooking Scale and Support Programme.
“The program aims to accelerate Tanzania’s transition from biomass-based cooking to modern electric cooking (eCooking),” an update from the ministry states.
The drive is meant to support the recently unveiled National Clean Cooking Strategy 2024-2034 which targets to have 80 per cent clean cooking across Tanzania by 2034. To achieve this, the programs immediate goal is to raise awareness of eCooking benefits among 80 per cent of urban and peri-urban Tanzanians by November 2025.
Speaking ahead of the launch of the campaign, Special Advisor to the President on Clean Cooking and Community Development, Ms. Angellah Kairuki said: “Tanzania’s transition to clean cooking is not just an energy issue it intersects with public health, environmental protection, economic empowerment and gender equity.”
“For many years now,” the minister lamented, “…our people have faced the burden of travelling long distances for firewood and charcoal, and this fact has left them exposed to respiratory illness, it has caused deforestation, destroyed ecosystem and ultimately caused poverty.”
She said the launched campaign is a bold step towards transforming cooking practices in Tanzania and protecting the environment at the same time.
“te program leverages our expanding electricity network and Clean Cooking Strategy to promote modern, affordable and sustainable solutions,” she said.
The minister went on to point out that the program will serve to improve the health and dignity of households, especially women and children.
Seconding the ministers’ views was Lead Researcher for Tanzania at MECS, Dr. Anna Clements who said; “We are excited to support Tanzania in adopting cleaner, more convenient cooking methods that respect traditional practices.”
The researcher was keen to point out that as electricity access and appliance usability improve in Tanzania, it follows that “…more households can enjoy the benefits of modern cooking, seamlessly integrated into their daily lives. Our role is to create an enabling environment that makes these choices easier and more attractive.” she said.
In her comments, the UK High Commissioner and representative of UK International Development in Tanzania, Ms. Marianne Young said the broader significance of clean cooking is promoting clean energy use, protecting the environment and health of all Tanzanians but particularly women in rural areas.
“It encourages small changes in cooking habits that can deliver significant benefits for families and the environment, without altering what they cook,” she said in reference to the camapign.
To achieve the campaign goals, the UK High Commissioner urged communities, media and partners to help spread awareness and support the campaign goals in each ones own capacity.
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Tanzania’s National eCooking roadmap
The Tanzania National Clean Cooking Strategy 2024-2034 was launched last year May by President H.E Dr. Samia Suluhu Hussain who also co-chaired the IEA Summit on Clean Cooking in Africa.
The National Clean Cooking Strategy was born of the Tanzania Clean Cooking Conference that was helf in November 2022.
The strategy aims to have 80% of Tanzanians using clean cooking solutions by 2034. The stratgey is multifaceted in its benefits touching on environmental degradation, climate change, health, gender, and the economy at the same time.
Dr. Anna Clements of the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS), a UK government program, commended the strategy saying Tanzania now joins the growing number of countries who are formulating national strategies to tackle clean and modern cooking.
She points out that the Clean Cooking Strategy seeks to secure a clean cooking future in which it is envisioned that ensures that consumers can and will meet their cooking needs using clean, renewable fuels. The target fuels and cooking appliances include but are not limited to electricity, LPG, bioethanol, biogas, LNG, and ICS.
“The Clean Cooking Strategy is a great example of integrated energy planning where investment in electricity is leveraged to gain progress in modern cooking,” she writes in her review of the strategy.
She notes that the strategy brings electricity access and infrastructure into a clean cooking policy document giving it legal framework.
“In this regard, eCooking is promoted in the strategy through increased electricity access to rural areas, financing mechanisms for example government subsidies for gas and plans for domestic manufacturing of cooking appliances along with nationwide gas supply systems,” she writes.
She goes on to point out that the strategy is also organised into 10 specific objectives which cover awareness, that is access to materials and infrastructure, then affordability, policies, laws, regulations and guidelines, investment, capacity building, research and innovation, and it even recognises the cross-cutting issues of gender, HIV/Aids, and good governance as well.
Finally, under each of the specific objectives, the strategy lays out detailed targets and indicators using the SMART approach to goal setting.
Dr. Clements notes that the implementation path of the strategy is clear and the achievable goals include:
- All villages and hamlets to have electricity access by June 2028.
- Electric stoves to be manufactured in country from July 2025.
- Electric stoves to be possible to be paid for through the TANESCO LUKU meters prepayment meters, that the majority of customers now have), to be implemented by the end of 2025.
- PAYGO to be implemented for relevant cooking appliances by 2034 across all regions of Tanzania.
- Taxes to be reduced on energy and appliances by June 2026.
- Guidelines on the quality standards for cooking energy, appliances, etc developed or updated and implemented by June 2025.
- National Clean Cooking Fund established by June 2025.
- Ban on biomass for institutions cooking for over 100 people.
- All Technical Education and Vocational Training colleges to have incorporated clean cooking into their curricula by June 2026.
