From 2016 to 2019, the Indian Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) distributed over 80 million liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves, making it the largest clean cooking program ever. Yet, evidence shows widespread continued use of the traditional chulha, negating the potential health benefits of LPG. Here we use semi-structured interviews with female and male adults to understand the drivers of LPG usage in Mulbagal, Karnataka, the site of a proto-PMUY program. We find that respondents perceive the main value of LPG to be saving time, rather than better health. We also find that norms of low female power in the household, in addition to costs, delay saving for and ordering LPG cylinder refills. Namely, female cooks controlled neither the money nor the mobile phone required to order a timely refill. These factors together contribute to the ‘refill gap’: the period of non-use between refilling cylinders, which may range from days to even months. Our work reveals how gender norms can amplify affordability challenges in low-income households.

从2016年到2019年，印度Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana（PMUY）分发了超过8000万个液化石油气（LPG）炉灶，使其成为有史以来最大的清洁烹饪程序。然而，有证据表明，传统的长句仍在继续广泛使用，否定了液化石油气对健康的潜在好处。在这里，我们使用对女性和男性成年人的半结构化访谈，以了解卡纳塔克邦穆尔巴加尔（Pro-PMUY计划所在地）液化石油气使用的驱动因素。我们发现，受访者认为液化石油气的主要价值在于节省时间，而不是改善健康状况。我们还发现，家庭中女性力量低下的规范，除了成本之外，还会延迟节省和订购LPG气瓶补充装。即，女厨师既不能控制金钱，也无法控制订购及时补充所需的手机。这些因素共同造成了“加气间隙”：加气瓶之间的不使用时间，可能从几天到甚至几个月不等。我们的工作揭示了性别规范如何加剧低收入家庭的负担能力挑战。