Global electricity demand to log highest levels in 2024-2025

This is seen to reach 4% globally.  

Demand for electricity across the world is seen to increase this year by around 4% from 2.5% a year ago, reflecting its expanding role amidst economic growth and technological advancements.

According to the International Energy Association’s (IEA) Electricity Mid-Year Update, this growth is being driven by robust economic growth, intense heat waves, and increasing uptake of technologies that run on electricity such as electric vehicles and heat pumps. In major economies like India and China alone, demand for electricity is seen to increase 8%, and 6%, respectively. 

IEA said the projected 4% growth would be the highest annual expansion since 2007, excluding the exceptional rebounds seen in the wake of the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It projects the expansion to continue until 2025, with a growth of around 4% again. 

IEA said renewable sources will also rapidly expand in 2024-2025, with their share of global electricity supply forecast to rise to 35% in 2025 from 30% in 2023. The amount of clean electricity generated globally in 2025 is forecast to eclipse the amount generated by coal for the first time, it added. 

“Solar PV [photovoltaic] alone is expected to meet roughly half of the growth in global electricity demand over 2024 and 2025 – with solar and wind combined meeting as much as three-quarters of the growth,” IEA said.

Despite the expansion of renewable energy, coal will continue to play a major role in global power generation, especially in China and India. This will lead to carbon emissions from the global power sector plateauing, with a slight increase in 2024 followed by a decline in 2025, IEA noted.

However, the report said a slight decline may still happen this year if Chinese hydropower production continues to recover in the second half of the year.