Global electricity demand is projected to grow at its fastest sustained pace in decades through 2030, driven by accelerating electrification of industry and transport, rapid expansion of data centres, and rising demand for cooling, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s latest outlook.
In its annual report Electricity 2026, the IEA forecasts global power demand to rise at an average annual rate of 3.6 per cent between 2026 and 2030, adding roughly 1,100 terawatt-hours (TWh) every year, about 50 per cent more than the average annual additions recorded over the past decade. Global electricity consumption is expected to reach 33,600 TWh by 2030, up from 28,200 TWh in 2025, it said.
The agency said the world has entered a new “Age of Electricity”, marked by a structural shift in how electricity consumption relates to economic growth. For the first time in three decades outside crisis periods, global electricity demand outpaced economic growth in 2024, a trend the IEA expects to persist through the end of the decade as electricity use grows at least 2.5 times faster than overall energy demand.
Emerging and developing economies are expected to account for nearly 80 per cent of additional electricity demand through 2030, with China remaining the single largest contributor. China alone is forecast to add about 2,600 TWh of electricity demand by 2030, roughly equivalent to the European Union’s current total consumption, despite a moderation in growth rates compared with the previous decade, the report said.
India and Southeast Asia are set to play a growing role in global electricity markets, supported by robust economic growth, expanding industrial activity and rapidly rising cooling demand, which is expected to push up both annual consumption and peak loads.
India’s electricity demand is projected to grow at an average 6.4 per cent per year through 2030, among the fastest rates globally, driven by cooling, industry and the continued electrification of agriculture and transport, the IEA said.
After four consecutive years of growth above six per cent, India’s electricity demand rose by a relatively modest 1.4 per cent in 2025, largely due to milder temperatures following an early monsoon that reduced air-conditioning use and agricultural pumping. Cooling degree days were more than 7 per cent lower in 2025 than in 2024, significantly tempering summer electricity consumption.
Despite this temporary slowdown, India is expected to add more than 570 TWh to its annual electricity consumption over the next five years. Industry is forecast to contribute around one-third of demand growth, while households and services will continue to drive the largest absolute increase in consumption.
Cooling demand is set to become a defining factor. The IEA estimates that air conditioning will account for over 20 per cent of India’s total electricity demand growth between 2026 and 2030, reflecting rising incomes, urbanisation and increasingly frequent heatwaves. Electrification of agriculture and transport is expected to jointly contribute around one-fifth of total demand growth over the same period.
India’s rising electricity use is already translating into sharper peak load pressures. National peak demand has increased by 54 per cent since 2017, reaching around 250 gigawatts (GW) in 2024, with record highs increasingly concentrated in the summer months due to extreme heat and pre-monsoon agricultural demand, the agency noted.
The IEA highlighted the importance of grid expansion and inter-regional transmission to manage these pressures. India’s five regional grids, fully interconnected since 2013, now have inter-regional transfer capacity exceeding 120 GW, but further investment will be required to integrate rising demand and the government’s target of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, up from about 267 GW as of December 2025.
Electricity demand in advanced economies is rebounding after nearly 15 years of stagnation, driven by data centres, electric vehicles, heat pumps and advanced manufacturing. Advanced economies accounted for nearly 20 per cent of global electricity demand growth in 2025, a share expected to remain broadly stable through 2030, the IEA said.
Electricity demand in the United States is projected to grow by nearly 2 per cent annually through 2030, with around half of the increase driven by data centres. In the European Union, demand is forecast to rise by around 2 per cent per year, although consumption is not expected to return to pre-energy-crisis levels until at least 2028.
On the supply side, renewables and nuclear power are expected to meet all additional global electricity demand through 2030 in aggregate. Together, they are forecast to account for around 50 per cent of global electricity generation by 2030, with solar photovoltaics leading growth. Coal-fired power, while declining slightly, is expected to remain the single largest source of electricity globally in 2030, reflecting uneven regional transitions.
The report warned that grid constraints pose a major risk. More than 2,500 GW of generation, storage and large-load projects are currently stuck in grid connection queues worldwide. To meet projected demand, annual global grid investment would need to rise by around 50 per cent from current levels, reaching roughly $600 billion per year by 2030.
Despite surging demand, global power-sector carbon dioxide emissions are forecast to plateau through 2030, as expanding renewables and nuclear generation reduce emissions intensity. However, the IEA cautioned that affordability, reliability and resilience, especially amid rising extreme weather events, will be central challenges for policymakers in the coming years.