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Electricity 2026
Global power demand growth continues to rise rapidly as the Age of Electricity gathers pace, supported by the increasing electrification of industry, transportation, and the buildings sectors. Growing consumption is also coming from some of the most dynamic segments of global economies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), data centres, and evolving technological innovations.Against this backdrop, Electricity 2026 – the IEA’s annual report on global electricity systems and markets – provides in-depth analysis of the recent trends and policy developments underpinning this new era. It includes forecasts for electricity demand, supply and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for select countries, by…
- Executive summary
- Demand
- Supply
- Grids
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+ 4 pages
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The Value of Demand Flexibility
Benefits beyond balancing This policy brief, developed under the International Energy Agency’s Digital Demand-Driven Electricity Networks (3DEN) Initiative, examines the value of demand flexibility as a core component of modern electricity systems, with a strong emphasis on its role in improving energy efficiency. As electricity demand grows and power systems become more electrified, decentralised and renewable-rich, managing when and how electricity is used is increasingly as important as expanding supply.The brief sets out a clear framework for understanding demand flexibility and highlights its contribution to an efficiency-first approach to power system planning and operation. By…
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China’s Official Energy Finance in Emerging and Developing Economies
Evolving institutions, instruments and implications for clean energy transitions Global energy investment exceeded USD 3.3 trillion in 2025, but capital flows remain uneven. Emerging market and developing economies (EMDE) outside China attracted just 27% of total energy investment and 18% of clean energy spending, despite accounting for nearly two-thirds of the global population and the bulk of future demand. Addressing this imbalance requires mobilising more capital from diverse sources into EMDE energy systems.China continues to play a central role in global energy investment flows because of its large domestic investments and its large external capital spending on energy. Since…
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Household Energy Affordability
Energy is one of the top expenses for millions of households, making energy affordability an important policy concern for governments. The impacts of the global energy crisis on consumer prices have been significantly felt in household budgets. Despite coming down from their peak in 2022, prices remain elevated compared to pre-crisis levels and households continue to grapple with higher living costs.This report sets out to identify key trends that are shaping the state of energy affordability around the world today. It explores how system drivers and household energy consumption influence the makeup of energy bills and opens a…
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Electricity Mid-Year Update 2025
Despite a slowdown in global economic growth prospects, the world’s electricity consumption increased strongly in the first half of 2025, driven by rising demand from industry, appliances, cooling, data centres and electrification. At the same time, electricity supply from renewables, natural gas and nuclear continues to grow, with all set to reach new milestones.This mid-year update follows the extensive Electricity 2025 report released in February, examining the latest trends and the outlook for the remainder of the year. It includes updated data for 2024 along with new forecasts for 2025 and 2026 covering areas such as global…
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Building the Future Transmission Grid
Strategies to navigate supply chain challenges The urgency to expand and modernise the electricity transmission network infrastructure around the world is putting pressure on supply chains.This report explores the evolving landscape of investment in electricity transmission networks and key trends related to the supply chain of key components. Based on a survey of industry stakeholders in 2024 by the International Energy Agency (IEA), it provides insights into how increasing infrastructure needs are affecting prices of components, lead times and related market dynamics.Building on the analysis Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions, this report identifies actionable strategies to address…
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Jobs
Multiple benefits of Energy Efficiency 2025 Energy efficiency provides multiple benefits. This page explores jobs. Why is energy efficiency important for jobs? Investment in energy efficiency creates jobs in a wide range of occupations and geographic locations. Key facts Around 10 million people work in energy efficiency-related jobs globally, representing nearly 15% of all energy-related jobs. Studies indicate that energy efficiency creates between 4 and 22 jobs per USD 1 million invested, depending on economic structure and energy efficiency measure. By lowering energy spending, energy efficiency also helps foster business growth and competitiveness. Energy efficiency offers a wide array of job opportunities…
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Efficient Grid-Interactive Buildings in India
Status and opportunities This report assesses the opportunities for efficient grid-interactive buildings (EGIBs) to support India’s clean energy transition. EGIBs unite energy efficiency, smart digital technologies and demand-side flexibility, allowing them to optimise energy use, shift or reduce peak demand and better align consumption with renewable energy generation.The buildings sector is central to clean energy transitions in a context where rapidly increasing electricity demand is driven by cooling and appliance use, and the share of variable renewable energy in electricity generation is continuously growing. Without targeted action, unmanaged peak loads and variable supply could jeopardise grid…
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IEA Support to Accelerating Renewable Energy Permitting (ARPE)
Between October 2023 and March 2025, the IEA implemented the “Accelerating Renewable Energy Permitting” (ARPE) action. The goal of ARPE was to support five EU Member states – Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and the Slovak Republic (Focus countries) – in developing and implementing policy and regulatory measures aimed at reaching their renewable energy targets, notably through accelerating permitting of renewable energy projects.In support of this objective, the IEA organised and facilitated five workshops focused on the following topics:streamlining administrative proceduresaccelerating offshore wind deploymentfacilitating spatial planning for renewable energy deploymentensuring public engagement and acceptance, and afinal workshop summarizing the project…
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Global Energy Review 2025
Global Energy Review 2025 This edition of the Global Energy Review is the first comprehensive depiction of the trends that took place in 2024 across the entire energy sector, covering data for all fuels and technologies, all regions and major countries, and energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The latest data show that the world’s appetite for energy rose at a faster-than-average pace in 2024, resulting in higher demand for all energy sources, including oil, natural gas, coal, renewables and nuclear power. This growth was led by the power sector, with demand for electricity rising almost twice…
- Key findings
- Global trends
- Oil
- Natural gas
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+ 3 pages
