Electricity
Modern economies depend on the reliable and affordable delivery of electricity. At the same time, the need to address climate change is driving a dramatic transformation of power systems globally.
Read moreThe global electricity supply is also being transformed by the rise of variable renewable sources of generation such as wind and solar PV. While this puts electricity at the forefront of clean-energy transitions, providing access to the nearly 1 billion currently deprived, helping cut air pollution and meet climate goals, these changes will require a new approach to how power systems are designed and how they operate. Otherwise, rising electrification could result in less secure energy systems, underscoring the urgent need for policy action in this critical sector.
Last updated Nov 24, 2020
Key findings
Annual average growth rates of electricity demand in selected regions, 2001-2020
OpenGlobal electricity demand is expected to fall by 5% in 2020
Renewable electricity net capacity additions by technology, main and accelerated cases, 2013-2022
OpenRenewable power markets are more resilient than previously thought
Data browser
Analysis
Statistics report
Monthly electricity statistics
Data for 47 countries up to October 2020
Statistics report
Covid-19 impact on electricity
Updated through the end of 2020
Fuel report
Coal 2020
Analysis and forecast to 2025
Fuel report
Electricity Market Report - December 2020
Article
Levelised Cost of Electricity Calculator
Interactive table of LCOE estimates from Projected Costs of Generating Electricity 2020
Fuel report
Projected Costs of Generating Electricity 2020
Country report
Korea 2020
Energy Policy Review
Events
IEA Speaker Series with Jean-Bernard Lévy, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, EDF
WEO week: The outlook for electricity
2nd Global Ministerial Conference on System Integration of Renewables
China’s Electric Power Sector Transformation
Latest news
A rebound in global coal demand in 2021 is set to be short-lived, but no immediate decline in sight
Global electricity demand to rebound modestly in 2021 after historic shock from pandemic
Low-carbon generation is becoming cost competitive, NEA and IEA say in new report
Chairs' Summary for the AUC-IEA Second Ministerial Forum
Reports
Our work
The Users TCP’s mission is to provide evidence from socio-technical research on the design, social acceptance and usability of clean energy technologies to inform policy making for clean, efficient and secure energy transitions. Decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation are embedding energy technologies in the heart of our communities. Communities’ response to these changes and use of energy technologies will determine the success of our energy systems. Poorly designed energy policies, and technologies that do not satisfy users’ needs, lead to ‘performance gaps’ that are both energy and economically inefficient. User-centred energy systems are therefore critical for delivering socially and politically acceptable energy transitions.
The mission of the HTS TCP is twofold: to evaluate the status of and assess the prospects for the electric power sector's use of HTS within the developed and developing world; and to disseminate the findings to decision makers in government, the private sector, and the research and development community. The HTS TCP provides evidence from socio-technical research on energy use to policy makers to support clean energy transitions. Through its work the HTS TCP provides evidence on the design, social acceptance and usability of clean energy technologies in the area of high temperature superconductivity.
The ISGAN TCP is a strategic platform to support high-level government attention and action for the accelerated development and deployment of smarter, cleaner electricity grids around the world. Operating as both an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial, and as a TCP, the ISGAN TCP provides an important channel for communication of experience, trends, lessons learned, and visions in support of clean energy objectives as well as new flexible and resilient solutions for smart grids.
Through multi-disciplinary international collaborative research and knowledge exchange, as well as market and policy recommendations, the SHC TCP works to increase the deployment rate of solar heating and cooling systems by breaking down the technical and non-technical barriers to increase deployment.
The Hydrogen TCP, founded in 1977, works to accelerate hydrogen implementation and widespread utilisation in the areas of production, storage, distribution, power, heating, mobility and industry. The Hydrogen TCP seeks to optimise environmental protection, improve energy security, transform global energy systems and grid management, and promote international economic development, as well as serving as the premier global resource for expertise in all aspects of hydrogen technology.
The mission of the Energy Storage TCP is to facilitate research, development, implementation and integration of energy storage technologies to optimise the energy efficiency of all kinds of energy systems and enable the increasing use of renewable energy. Storage technologies are a central component in energy-efficient and sustainable energy systems. Energy storage is a cross-cutting issue that relies on expert knowledge of many disciplines. The Energy Storage TCP fosters widespread experience, synergies and cross-disciplinary co-ordination of working plans and research goals