In a report published on 14 February, the International Energy Agency (IEA) states that electricity consumption is set to increase by an average of 4% a year until 2027, which is equivalent to adding more electricity each year than Japan’s annual consumption between now and 2027.
This increase is largely due to the growing use of electricity in industrial production, increased demand for air conditioning, accelerated electrification and the rapid expansion of data centres.
Most of the demand will come from developing economies, accounting for 85% of the growth in demand. In China alone, electricity consumption rose by 7% in 2024 and is expected to grow by an average of around 6% until 2027. However, Keisuke Sadamori, IAE Director of Energy Markets and Security, points out that “consumption is also expected to increase in many advanced economies after a period of relative stagnation”.
In the EU, this growth should be put into perspective, as electricity demand is not expected to return to its 2021 levels until 2027, after the significant falls in 2022 and 2023 caused by the energy crisis.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/fjf (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)