The Energy Crisis hits the Kitchen

By Parakrama Jayasinghe

Past President Bio Energy Association of Sri Lanka

Close on the heels of the grave hit on the wallet of consumers due to the hefty hike in the LPG prices, a new crisis by way of safety of use of even the expensive gas has created an even greater problem. As recently as August 2021, I published an article titled. “Wallowing in the Fossil Fuel Trap” in The Island, where I dealt with the entire spectrum of energy,

While the impact on areas like electricity and transport fuels by this over-dependence on imported fossil fuels are kept under wraps by the authorities by high levels of subsidies, which keep the consumers in a state of false euphoria and leading them to believe that their interests are looked after and thus live in a fool’s paradise. But the present safety issue cannot be swept under the carpet.

For example, to cover the continuing losses by the CEB, running close to a hundred billion rupees in some years, even the consumers at the lowest consumption levels are paying an extra Rs. 5.00 or more per unit without it being reflected in the monthly bill. Perhaps, with one of the suppliers of LPG being a private company, the current LPG prices may not include any subsidies. Instead, the consumers are now in a worse situation when the very safety of use is in doubt.

The advent of LPG as a cooking fuel goes back to the 1970 decade when the LPG from our refinery was being flared off without any productive use. Limited to that level of availability and use, there can be no objection to this decision. The fault lies in expanding and promoting the use of LPG way beyond the local production possible from our refinery and resorting to imports over which we have absolutely no control.

This may have been an attractive commercial opportunity opening the way even for international petroleum giant, Shell, to move in. Let us not delve into the background and the later events which occurred. The fact remains that yet another import was promoted blindly with total lack of vision on the possible future impacts on many fronts. Our problems of shortage of foreign exchange was present even those days although not as critical as now.

The original price of LPG was Rs. 35.00 for a 13.5 kg cylinder has now ballooned up to Rs 2,850.00 for a 12.5 kg cylinder, an 88-fold increase.

Typical of the mindset of the Sri Lankan consumers, every time there is a price hike there will be protests and many high-level discussions and news reports, which fizzle out in a few weeks at most. The media shift their focus to the next crisis and the protesters would lose their audience and attention of the authorities. This is how the price of LPG has continually risen with the equally stupid occasional price reductions by the government trying to score a point, which are more than overridden by the next price hike.

Concentrating only on the present crisis on LPG, what is our alternative?

On some such occasions in the past in about year 2002 with a price hike, the NERD Centre embarked on a research project to develop a suitable wood fired cooking stove in an effort to entice the people to go back to the use of fuel wood. Several successful models were developed and licenses were issued to a number of companies to manufacture the units for the market. It was heartening to see those stoves being offered for reasonable prices in many hardware shops. The pictures below illustrate these models. (See figure 1)

However, as regrettably happens in Sri Lanka, this effort too fizzled out primarily due to Lack of development of a suitable supply mechanism for the fuel wood needed, particularly in the urban areas which could have gained the most from the adoption of the stoves.

Aggressive marketing of LPG was carried out even in the rural areas where the householders could have got all the fuelwood from their own backyard. We have calculated that the fuel wood needs of a family for the year could be generated continually from two rows of Gliricidia planted on the fence of a 10-perch block of land

Also on the background were the concerted efforts to downgrade and dissuade the use of biomass for cooking with references to widely cited academic theories and publications. The message being conveyed was that the use of biomass could lead to health hazards due to smoke and unburnt firewood, etc. We in Sri Lanka have used firewood and other biomass for cooking since time immemorial without any proven evidence of such health hazards. These problems may be true for some countries where cooking is done in poorly ventilated confined spaces. But not so for our traditional kitchens most of which also boast fireplaces with a chimney as part and parcel of the kitchen. The use of firewood in the traditional way could, of course, be problematic in the modern highrise apartments.

The vendors of LPG were quick to pounce upon these, and I remember a public seminar where some foreign agencies even offered the LPG cookers free of charge. They would not answer my question as to who will pay for the gas already on a rising price trend.

What are the alternatives available for us in the present context and how fast can they be adopted? I look at these in reference to the affordability and degree of sophistication that the consumer expects and is willing to pay for. Starting from the high end these can be listed as

1. Go electric – Before there are howls of protests, let me qualify this to say that this option is for those who already have their roof top solar PV systems of adequate capacity. As such, there would not be an additional burden on the national grid and the consumer would enjoy all the benefits of cooking with electricity while not feeling the financial pinch. Those who are aspiring to join the Surya Bala Sangraamya are well-advised to factor this in their assessment of capacity of the systems to be installed.

2. The NERD design of the wood stove, particularly the model with the electric fan performs satisfactorily and reliably. However, there are hardly any in the market while I understand that some licensees have re-commenced production. Also, the earlier problem of a reliable and sustainable supply of properly dried and processed fuelwood must be addressed along with the urgent action to accelerate the production of stoves. More players can join the manufacturing with the very likely rapid expansion of the demand.

3. The most convenient and immediately available option particularly for households in less urbanised areas, who were led astray by the authorities and the LPG vendors, is to adopt the much-improved covered clay stoves called the ‘Anagi Lipa’. As the name suggests it is a wonderful and simple invention which is available even in Colombo for a price of Rs 600.00 It has an efficiency of over three time that of a traditional three stone heath and thereby much reduced fuel wood consumption.

The chart indicates the relative cost of different fuel options. The electricity option is shown only for comparison as it is a zero cost for those who can afford a roof top solar PV system.

The question remains as to the means of ensuring a steady supply of fuel wood. As usual Sri Lanka has a viable indigenous solution for any problem, if only we are ready to appreciate and adopt them. In this case that wonder tree Gliricidia Sepium offers the obvious solution. The Cabinet of Ministers declared Gliricidia as the fourth national plantation crop as far back as June 2005 and promptly ignored all the proposals therein for the development of this valuable resource. Hopefully, they will wake up at least now and take action on those proposals which are even more valid now.

Moreover, the use of this option offers an added means of addressing a most aggravating problem faced by poor women, particularly in the rural areas, that of indebtedness to the micro finance companies and even some shylocks. Let them become the suppliers of the much needed fuel wood using their own Gliricidia trees, both for their own use and for sale to the more affluent housewives who are now unable to use LPG for safety reasons.

Fortunately, many rural families possess at least a quarter acre of land on which an adequate number of Gliricidia trees can be grown to provide them with the surplus wood for sale in addition to the income from creative use of the leaves. Thus, a steady cash income can be guaranteed while solving a national problem. There is no cost in the cultivation and the only investment required is for the purchase of a sharp machete. The chopped and dried wood can be market ready in say three-kilo packets in their spare time. However, the rest of the value chain and the systems to support this market must emerge.

In this light, it is worthwhile to consider the numbers involved. Sri Lanka imported $ 200 million worth of LPG last year. Even if 25 % of this amount can be redirected for the supply of Gliricidia fuelwood, a whopping Rs 10,000 million would flow to the rural economy.

So, it is up to the consumers themselves to make their own choices instead of forever depending on the authorities at all levels. Their willingness to change over is all that is needed to support the fuelwood suppliers.