Global electricity demand is forecast to climb as grid bottlenecks grow

The IEA forecasts global electricity demand will grow by an average of 3.6% a year from 2026 through 2030, driven in part by industry, electric vehicles, air conditioning and data centers. It says more than 2,500 GW of projects are stalled in grid connection queues worldwide. Meeting forecast demand would require annual grid investment to rise roughly 50% from about $400 billion by 2030.