- According to the IEA, global electricity demand rose by 4.3% in 2024, nearly doubling the decade average, with China and advanced economies leading the surge.
- The IEA called for urgent clean energy investments as rising electrification and extreme weather pushed building sector consumption to record levels.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has reported a sharp rise in global electricity demand. In 2024, demand grew by 4.3%, up from 2.5% in 2023. The IEA shared this update in its Global Energy Review 2025, released on Friday, April 4.
The report says electrification, extreme weather, and growing industrial activity caused the surge across various sectors. Electricity demand in 2024 nearly doubled the average annual growth seen over the past ten years.
China led this global increase. Its electricity use rose by over 550 terawatt-hours (TWh), a 7% jump from 2023. This increase alone accounted for more than half of the global rise in power use. The IEA explained that China’s growth came from higher industrial output, more data centres, and greater air conditioning use.
Advanced economies also saw a rebound in electricity demand. These countries had recorded a drop of 140 TWh in 2023. In 2024, demand rose by 230 TWh. The United States led this recovery. The IEA linked the growth to increasing industrial production, rapid data centre expansion, and record-breaking heatwaves across North America.
Europe followed a similar trend. The European Union’s electricity demand grew by around 1.5%, reversing years of minor to no growth. Australia and South Korea also reported faster growth in electricity use.
The building sector drove much of the global increase. Power demand from buildings rose by more than 600 TWh, accounting for nearly 60% of the total global growth. The IEA said heatwaves, especially in China and India, pushed up the use of air conditioners.
India’s electricity demand grew more slowly than in 2023. The IEA said this was due to a return to normal after a weather-driven spike the year before. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia saw one of the biggest jumps. Demand in the region rose by over 7%, compared to 4% in 2023.
Experts say the rising demand highlights the need for more clean energy. The IEA stressed that meeting this demand with renewables is key to avoiding increased fossil fuel use.