Rising demand

Electricity demand increases by around four percent annually

For the period from 2025 to 2027, the IEA expects annual growth of almost four percent.

(Bild: Tom Bayer - stock.adobe.com)

According to the latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), global demand for electricity is expected to increase by 2027 at the fastest rate in years. For the period from 2025 to 2027, the IEA expects annual growth of almost four percent. 

This corresponds to an increase in global electricity consumption of around 3,500 terawatt hours (TWh) - roughly as much as Japan consumes in a year.

• This growth is largely driven by rising industrial production, the increasing use of air conditioning systems, accelerated electrification and the global expansion of data centers.
• Emerging economies such as China and India in particular are contributing around 85% of the increase in demand for electricity. In China, demand will grow by an average of six percent annually in the coming years, while an increase of 6.3 percent is forecast in India. In Africa, electricity consumption is lagging behind.

• In advanced economies such as the USA and the EU, demand for electricity is rising again after years of stagnation. The increasing use of electric vehicles, air conditioning systems, heat pumps and data centers in particular will contribute to this rise. The modest growth of 1.4% in the EU in 2024 was driven by the household and commercial sectors.

• Industry will remain the main driver of electricity consumption. However, sectors such as the manufacture of solar modules, batteries and electric vehicles will also account for a significant proportion of the increase in electricity consumption.

• However, the growing demand for electricity also leads to challenges in terms of security of supply - for example after extreme weather events. Robust infrastructure and sufficient storage capacities are needed to ensure security of supply.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe)

Demand mainly from renewable energy
Electricity generation will meet the global increase in demand predominantly through renewable energies and nuclear energy. Wind, solar and hydropower are expected to cover around 95% of demand growth by 2027, with photovoltaics making a decisive contribution by increasing capacity by 600 TWh per year.