At a time when many eateries across Bengaluru were scaling down their menus and households were rushing to buy induction stoves due to LPG shortage, Reva Jhingan Malik and Ranjan Malik’s home in Bengaluru remained unaffected. The family moved away from LPG six years ago, shifting instead to solar-based cooking at their “mud” house.

Their home has no LPG connections, taps, and fridge or washing machine, and relies only on sustainable alternatives. The shift began during Reva’s research on learning practices in rural communities, where the couple observed how households were deeply rooted in sustainable, low-dependence lifestyles, in contrast to what she describes as the “false abundance” of urban living. Since 2020, their meals have been prepared using a three-compartment solar cooker, while their electricity needs are met through a small 850 VA rooftop solar setup.

But such self-sustained models remain an exception, particularly when it comes to urban commercial kitchens that depend on uninterrupted, high-volume cooking. That gap is reflected in the Karnataka’s broader energy mix.

Energy mix

Karnataka currently has a total installed power generation capacity of about 36,472 megawatts (MW), with renewable energy accounting for a larger share than conventional sources. Of the total, around 20,162 MW comes from renewable sources, while 16,310 MW is generated from thermal, hydro, and gas-based plants.

Among conventional sources, State-owned thermal power plants contribute 5,020 MW, while Karnataka receives 4,081 MW as its share from Central Generating Stations. Hydropower accounts for another 3,798 MW. Additional sources include 1,200 MW from Udupi Power Corporation Limited, 1,391 MW from captive mini-thermal plants, 450 MW from the Damodar Valley Corporation, and 370 MW from the Yelahanka Combined Cycle Power Plant.

Renewables form the largest portion of the State’s installed capacity, with solar alone contributing about 9,805 MW, followed by wind at 7,536 MW. Other sources include 1,742 MW from co-generation, 940 MW from mini hydel projects, and 139 MW from biomass. Together, these account for more than half of Karnataka’s installed electricity capacity.

However, despite the rapid expansion of renewable energy in the State, this shift has not translated into viable alternatives for small eateries and commercial kitchens, which continue to rely almost entirely on LPG — a dependence now exposed by the ongoing supply disruption. Most households too continue to depend on LPG.

LPG disruption

On March 9, the Bangalore Hotels Association raised alarm over a sudden shortage of commercial LPG, which followed escalating tensions in West Asia — a region critical to India’s fuel imports, with key shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz handling a significant share of global LPG trade. While the industry was initially assured that supplies were sufficient for over 70 days, the situation tightened within days.

Across the 40,000 hotels in Bengaluru, a majority of small and mid-sized eateries either restricted operations to beverages such as tea and filter coffee or sharply cut down menus to basic rice-based items like sambar rice starting March 10. In the days that followed, as the disruption persisted, several establishments also began increasing prices amid rising input costs and continued uncertainty over supplies.

Why LPG?

For most hotels, however, the disruption is not just a supply issue but explains how deeply small and medium scale commercial kitchens are built around LPG.

“Small eateries largely depend on LPG because it is the only fuel that can reliably meet the scale and speed of commercial cooking,” said Basavaraj M.S., who runs a small eatery in Rajajinagar. In most restaurants, multiple burners operate simultaneously for hours — preparing dosa, frying snacks, boiling rice and cooking curries at the same time. LPG provides a strong, consistent flame that can be adjusted instantly depending on the dish.

This dependence is also reinforced by the way kitchens are set up. “Most restaurant kitchens are designed around LPG-based stoves and equipment. Shifting to electric or induction systems would mean replacing burners, vessels and, in many cases, upgrading wiring capacity. For small eateries operating on thin margins, that is not practical,” he said.

Practical barriers

Even in situations where alternatives are considered, operational constraints remain, hoteliers say.

For most eateries, alternative cooking fuels come with challenges related to infrastructure, cost and the nature of commercial cooking, said Roopa Shashtri, owner of a restaurant in Gandhinagar. “Solar energy, for instance, cannot directly support kitchen operations as it does not generate the kind of continuous, high heat required for bulk cooking. While it can produce electricity, running multiple appliances would require large rooftop spaces and battery storage systems, something rarely feasible in compact, rented commercial spaces,” she explained.

Mahesh Bhat K., owner of a restaurant in Vasanth Nagar added that electric cooking also presents limitations at scale. Running several induction or electric stoves simultaneously requires significantly higher electrical load than what most establishments are equipped for. Many restaurants already operate close to their sanctioned capacity, and upgrading to higher-load connections involves additional cost and approvals.

PNG and bio fuel

Other alternatives such as piped natural gas (PNG) and biomass also face constraints. PNG infrastructure remains limited to certain areas, leaving many eateries without access, while installation requires time and upfront investment. Biomass-based fuels, on the other hand, require additional space, ventilation and handling due to smoke and residue, conditions that are difficult to manage in dense urban kitchens.

Waste-to-energy solutions face a more fundamental challenge; the lack of consistent waste segregation at source. Mixed waste, in practice, significantly reduces the efficiency of such systems.

Despite policy push and infrastructure in place, poor segregation by households and commercial establishments continues to limit the viability of waste-to-energy at an individual or decentralised level, keeping it largely confined to large, centralised facilities.

Present installed capacity of Karnataka

Source Installed capacity in MW Hydro 3,798 State owned Thermal 5,020 State share with CGS 4,081 UPCL (IPP) 1,200 LTA (DVC) 450 Captive (Mini Thermal) 1,391 YCCP gas 370 Total Conventional Energy 16,310

Source Installed capacity in MW Wind 7,536 Solar 9,805 Mini Hydel 940 Bio-Mass 139 Co-generation 1,742 Total Renewable energy 20,162

Total Installed Energy Capacity - 36,472 MW

Source: Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL)

At scale

In contrast, a few large, centralised kitchens have managed to integrate such alternatives into their operations at scale.

One such example is Adamya Chetana’s Annapoorna kitchen in Bengaluru, which prepares over 72,000 mid-day meals without relying on LPG, diesel or kerosene. The facility, which initially operated on LPG in 2011 and later transitioned to diesel, has over time shifted to a fully fossil-fuel-free model built on biomass and circular resource use.

Cooking here is powered primarily by biomass briquettes made from agricultural waste. The organisation estimates that the transition has helped save nearly 12,500 LPG cylinders and close to one lakh litres of diesel annually.

The system is supported by integrated resource use — organic waste is repurposed as fuel, a biogas unit converts kitchen waste into energy for additional heating, and a co-generation system produces hot water without additional fuel. Solar power supports part of the electricity demand through rooftop installations. Waste management is central to operations. What was once nearly 300 kg of daily waste has been reduced to zero through reuse and recycling, with vegetable waste diverted for composting or cattle feed, and water reused across processes.

However, such models depend on scale, space and long-term planning — factors that hoteliers say are largely absent in small and mid-sized eateries operating in compact, rented spaces. The transition also requires upfront investment and redesign, making it difficult to replicate across any city’s fragmented food sector.

LPG cylinder shortage: Bengaluru hotels switch to induction, kerosene stoves

Beyond fuel availability

Explaining why alternatives to LPG remain limited for residential use at present, Purva Jain, Lead Energy Specialist (Gas and International Advocacy), South Asia, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), said that while alternatives exist, their adoption needs more policy support.

“If you look purely at the cost of use, electric cooking can turn out to be one of the cheapest option today. Our (IEEFA) analysis shows that for a family of four, electricity-based cooking is cheaper than both PNG and non-subsidised LPG, and is comparable to subsidised LPG for many consumers. PNG can be around 14% more expensive than electricity-based cooking, and non-subsidised LPG up to 37% more for a family of four in Delhi.”

However, operating costs alone does not drive adoption. “The real challenge lies in the upfront cost of procurement and awareness. LPG continues to dominate because most users already have the connection, equipment, and utensils. Even for a new connection, the initial cost is relatively low compared to other options,” she stressed.

Rooftop solar

This gap between potential and adoption is also visible in rooftop solar uptake across Bengaluru. According to data from the energy department, 14,944 buildings under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) have installed rooftop solar systems, including 215 government buildings, together generating about 352.35 MW of electricity.

Within Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts alone, there are 5,370 such installations, with 4,984 in urban areas. Officials said that while schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana have supported adoption — benefiting over 11,000 households in Bengaluru Urban — rooftop solar still forms a small share of the city’s overall energy use and is largely limited to residential and institutional consumers rather than commercial kitchens.

Jain pointed out that alternatives such as PNG and induction cooking come with higher entry barriers. “For PNG, the upfront cost of getting a connection, including deposits, is significantly higher, and more importantly, it is only available in areas where pipeline infrastructure exists. That geographic limitation itself becomes a constraint.”

Induction cooking, she added, faces both cost and design challenges. “The cost of buying induction cooktops and compatible utensils is higher, and the design itself can be a barrier. In India, even the most basic cooking setup typically involves at least two burners. Most induction systems are single-cooktop units, and upgrading to multiple units increases costs further. That becomes a constraint, especially for households or commercial kitchens used to cooking multiple dishes simultaneously.”

While heavily subsidised LPG under schemes such as PMUY remains the cheapest option for low-income households, she noted that affordability challenges persist. “Even among PMUY beneficiaries, consumption levels are lower than expected, which indicates that households may still be relying partly on traditional fuels.”

The way forward

Jain said the current volatility resulting in LPG supply disruption should be seen as an opportunity to push cleaner alternatives, but only with the right policy and market support. “There is a clear middle path here. Awareness is one part, both from a policy perspective and from manufacturers. Companies need to make alternative technologies more accessible and affordable, just as LPG ecosystems have evolved over time.”

She stressed the need for a stronger policy push. “We have targets for renewable energy and gas-based systems, but a more clear defined roadmap for electric cooking could help accelerate adoption. What is needed is a defined policy framework with measurable targets, along with incentives for consumers and manufacturers to drive adoption and bring down costs.”

On other alternatives, she said solutions like waste-to-energy and biogas require deeper systemic changes. “Waste-to-energy faces challenges such as lack of proper waste segregation, which makes it difficult to scale in India. Biogas, on the other hand, has strong potential, particularly in rural areas and cluster-based industries, but again, it needs coherent policy and fiscal support and infrastructure.”

“In a country like India, no single fuel can replace another entirely,” she added. “The focus should be on optimising different energy sources based on context, which requires long-term planning, not just short-term responses during crises.”

Individual choice matters

Emphasising the importance of conscious choice, Reva Jhingan Malik said their decision to build an off-grid home came at a time when Bengaluru was repeatedly making headlines for water scarcity and pollution, prompting them to rethink how they lived. She believes more people do not move towards such models largely because the urgency of the problem does not fully register at an individual level.

“When we switch on a light or use fuel, we don’t think about where that energy comes from or how long it has taken to form. Fossil fuels are the result of processes that take millions of years, yet we consume them as if they are endlessly available,” she said. This sense of convenience, she said, is a major reason why people hesitate to shift.

“The systems we live in make everything readily available, so it becomes difficult to imagine a different way of living. As long as that comfort exists, there is very little push to change.” While larger systems need to evolve, Reva believes that responsibility also lies with individuals to recognise the limits and act accordingly.