Nepal has been talking about its energy future for years. We talk about hydropower, electricity exports, electric vehicles and reducing our dependence on imported petroleum products. But one part of that future deserves much more attention: the kitchen.

Every household cooks. Every hotel, restaurant, resort, café, canteen, tea shop and food business cooks. And much of that cooking still depends on imported cooking gas.

So this is a question of energy security, foreign currency and Nepal’s long-term future. As a chef who has worked in professional kitchens in Nepal and abroad, I have seen first-hand how important energy is to hospitality. Nepal should start planning now for a 10-year National Electric Cooking Mission: practical, affordable and gradual, and ready before the next cooking gas crisis.

Nepal does not produce the widely used Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cooking gas; all of it comes from India. Official Foreign Trade Statistics show 514.34 million kilograms imported in fiscal year 2022/23, about 1,409 tonnes every day. The Department of Customs valued LPG imports at Rs62.58 billion in FY 2024/25, and at Rs52.21 billion in the first 11 months of FY 2025/26. Monthly demand sits at 45,000 to 50,000 tonnes, about a third of it from commercial users such as hotels and restaurants. These are tens of billions of rupees leaving Nepal every year to buy cooking fuel. And LPG is not a luxury. People need it every day.

The system is also fragile. In March, amid West Asia tensions, Nepal Oil Corporation began selling half-filled cylinders and queues formed at depots, even though imports had not fallen. That is exactly the lesson: A country does not have to run out of fuel to experience an energy crisis. The half-fill rule lasted months; restaurants and hotels said it was not enough for heavy-duty cooking, and shortages returned after full cylinders resumed. So why wait for the next crisis to prepare seriously for an alternative?

Nepal has another energy resource: electricity, produced at home. And Nepal does not need to start from zero. The government’s Energy Consumption Growth and Export Strategy, 2083 BS, proposes phasing out LPG subsidies by FY 2092/93, supporting electric stoves and raising per capita consumption to 1,500 kilowatt-hours by 2035. Consumers are already ahead of policy, with induction and infrared cooker imports surging. So instead of importing more fuel to cook food, can we increasingly use electricity produced in Nepal?

Let me be clear. I am not suggesting that every household throw away its gas stove tomorrow, or that LPG disappear overnight. Reliability, affordability, infrastructure and the different needs of urban and rural kitchens are real challenges, so the transition must be practical and gradual. The objective is to build an entire ecosystem around electric cooking, from households to hotels, hospitals and culinary schools. 

First, the alternatives to LPG need to be made affordable. An induction cooker’s upfront cost of Rs5,000 to Rs6,000 is too high for many households. Nepal should examine reducing duties on induction cookers, electric pressure cookers, ovens and commercial induction systems, with targeted subsidies for lower-income households, gradually shifting support from imported fuel to domestic electricity.

Second, commercial kitchens need to be brought in. The debate focuses too much on households, yet hotels pay around Rs15 a unit for electricity, which discourages switching. Low-interest financing, equipment grants, help with electrical upgrades and a preferential tariff for verified electric cooking would change the maths. A restaurant should not carry the cost of a modern electric kitchen alone.

We also need to prove it with Nepali food. People don’t change technology because the government tells them to; they change when they see it work. Chefs, culinary schools, hotels and digital creators should show dal, bhat, tarkari, roti, momo, Newari, Thakali and Mithila food cooked electrically, and major hotels could each set up a demonstration electric kitchen for training, equipment testing and public awareness.

Also important is the need to fix the wires first. Electric cooking needs reliable electricity, and it is not enough to tell a family or a restaurant to buy an induction cooker if transformers, wiring and peak-hour capacity cannot cope. The government’s own strategy flags weak distribution. The Nepal Electricity Authority’s then chief estimated in 2022 that replacing every LPG cylinder in the Kathmandu Valley would need another 500 to 600 megawatts. Cooking policy and grid policy must move together.

We also need to collect real data and build an industry. A national programme bringing together government, the NEA, chefs, hotels, appliance makers, culinary schools and banks could set standards, financing models and training, and measure what a restaurant spends on LPG today and what the same kitchen would use in electricity. We should make the transition based on evidence, not slogans. It could also create jobs in installation, repair and kitchen design.

A roadmap could run in three stages, subject to proper technical and economic studies: 2027–2030, build the foundation; 2030–2033, accelerate adoption in households, hotels and institutions; 2033–2037, make electric cooking the preferred option for new homes and hospitality projects where technically appropriate. Each stage needs measurable targets: kitchens converted, LPG cut, foreign currency saved.

The debate should not be gas versus electricity. It should be imported energy versus energy we can increasingly produce ourselves. Electricity is not automatically cheaper in every kitchen; that depends on equipment, tariffs, infrastructure and cooking practice, which is why Nepal needs pilots and transparent data. But the strategic opportunity is too important to ignore.

I am not writing this as an energy economist. I am writing this as a chef. Every day, millions of Nepalis enter kitchens and turn energy into food, so our kitchens are part of Nepal’s energy future. Modern electric cooking does not mean giving up our food culture. Our food culture can remain traditional while our energy technology evolves.

We don’t have to wait for the next crisis. Planning during a crisis is expensive. Planning before a crisis is smart. Nepal can start building an alternative while LPG is still available. The question to ask is, “How can we use the electricity we generate in Nepal to cook the food we eat in Nepal?” Nepal needs a national plan for the kitchen of the future. And that future could increasingly be electric.

Chef Shah is a hospitality professional and a MasterChef UK finalist.