IEA urges grid and flexibility plan to meet electricity boom
Yusuf Latief
Posted on: 6 February 2026
Electricity demand is on course to grow at least 2.5 times as fast as overall energy demand to 2030, says IEA in latest report.
The International Energy Agency has warned that, due to fast growing electricity demand, a fast and efficient expansion of power grids and system flexibility is needed.
In their latest report, Electricity 2026, the Agency says that global power demand is set to grow by more than 3.5% per year on average over the rest of this decade, with electricity generation from renewables, natural gas and nuclear all expanding to keep pace.
It adds that electricity demand is on course to grow at least 2.5 times as fast as overall energy demand through 2030 as the ‘Age of Electricity’ takes hold.
This is driven by rising industrial use of electricity, the continued uptake of EVs, higher air conditioning use and the expansion of data centres and AI.
While emerging and developing economies remain the main engines of electricity demand growth, consumption from advanced economies is also rising after 15 years of stagnation – contributing to a fifth of the total increase in power demand through 2030.
The report finds that global electricity generation from renewables − boosted by record deployment of solar PV – is now in the process of overtaking generation from coal, after drawing level with it in 2025.
A rapid expansion of grids & flexibility will be vital as electricity demand grows.
Nuclear power output also rose to a new record, says the report. The momentum behind low-emissions sources of generation continues to 2030, by which time renewables and nuclear are together set to generate 50% of global electricity, up from 42% today.
It adds that coal fired generation has been losing ground globally as renewables expand, returning to 2021 levels by the end of the decade. As a result, global CO₂ emissions from electricity generation are expected to remain roughly flat between now and 2030.
Such trends, emphasises the IEA, require a rapid and efficient expansion of both electricity grids and system flexibility.
Commenting on LinkedIn, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said: “A rapid expansion of grids and flexibility will be vital as electricity demand grows. Today, thousands of gigawatts worth of projects are currently stalled in connection queues worldwide. Deploying grid-enhancing technologies & regulatory reforms could unlock substantial capacity.”
Indeed, according to the IEA in the report, today more than 2,500GW worth of projects – encompassing renewables, storage, and projects with large loads, such as data centres – are currently stalled in connection queues worldwide.
In this Age of Electricity, the increase in global power consumption through 2030 is set to be equivalent to adding more than two European Unions.
The report’s analysis finds that as the expansion of grids advances, deploying grid-enhancing technologies and implementing regulatory reforms that enable more flexible grid connections and usage could allow for the integration of up to 1,600GW of queued projects in the near term.
Together, these measures would allow the grid to be used more efficiently and unlock substantial capacity.
The IEA’s Director of Energy Markets and Security, Keisuke Sadamori, said: “At a moment of significant uncertainty across energy markets, one certainty is that global electricity demand is growing much more strongly than it did over the past decade.
“In this Age of Electricity, the increase in global power consumption through 2030 is set to be equivalent to adding more than two European Unions.”
More from the IEA:
IEA sounds alarm on energy security threats in latest global report
Grid bottlenecks keeping 1700GW of renewables ‘in the queue’
IEA launches observatory to monitor AI and data centre energy demand
According to Sadamori, meeting this growing demand will require annual investment in grids to rise by 50% by 2030.
“Expanding flexibility will also be crucial as power networks continue to evolve – so will a strong focus on security and resilience.”
The report finds that installations of utility-scale battery storage have risen sharply, providing an important source of short-term flexibility. Markets such as California, Germany, Texas, South Australia and the UK have all seen strong growth in utility-scale battery capacity deployment in recent years.
Electricity 2026 also notes that greater efforts are needed to improve the security and resilience of power systems around the world, which face rising risks associated with ageing infrastructure, extreme weather events, cyberthreats and other emerging vulnerabilities.
Modernising how systems operate, as well as strengthening the physical protection of critical infrastructure, will be essential to countering these threats, the report emphasises.
