Making clean cooking affordable and accessible during COVID-19: ‘Pay-as-you-go’ smart meters promote health equity

World Health Organization (WHO)

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Abstract: Affordability of clean cooking solutions like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves is one of the biggest barriers to reducing exposure to household air pollution in resource-poor households. New research suggests that â??pay-asyou-goâ? smart meter technology can help address the affordability challenges of clean cooking by enabling incremental fuel payments for households in place of paying the full upfront cost of a LPG cylinder. A recent study assessing pay-as-you-go LPG cooking patterns showed that in spite of economic and other hardships,the amount of LPG consumed by households remained relatively stable,illustrating how smart meter technology may have maintained a healthier home environment for at-risk populations during the lockdown.