How fast global electricity demand is growing
Global electricity demand rose by 4.3% in 2024 — one of the strongest years in over a decade — and the IEA expects growth of around 3.3% in 2025 and 3.7% in 2026. Demand is now climbing faster than total energy demand as economies electrify.
Source: IEA — Electricity Mid-Year Update 2025 — global electricity use to grow strongly (2025)
What it means
Electricity demand growing near 4% a year, faster than in most of the past decade, means grids are tightening and power is becoming a more contested, more valuable input. For an industrial operator that raises the strategic value of cutting electrical waste, managing demand around peak prices, and locking in supply — because the cheapest kilowatt-hour is still the one you never use.
Context
The IEA attributes the acceleration to electrification of transport and heat, growth in cooling demand, and rapidly rising consumption from data centres. Data-centre electricity use alone climbed about 17% in 2025, though it still accounts for under 10% of total demand growth this decade. Forecasts carry uncertainty because they depend on economic growth and weather, so the year-to-year figures are best read as 'persistently strong' rather than precise.
Related charts
Where industrial electricity goes
Electricity's rising share of industrial energy
Renewables' share of global electricity
Related topics
How to Reduce Industrial Energy Costs: Practical Quick Wins · Demand Response · Specific Energy Consumption (SEC)
Relevant to: Chemicals · Steel & Metals · Cement