Executive Summary 8

Demand 13

　The Age of Electricity has arrived, underpinned by strong demand growth 13

　Demand in advanced economies rebounds after a long period of stagnation 13

　Electricity consumption set to rise strongly across all sectors 15

　Electricity demand breaks with history, outpacing global GDP growth16

　US and EU electricity demand forecast to post robust growth 18

　Per capita electricity consumption will reach new record highs 19

　China’s electricity demand on a solid growth path 21

　Peak load and demand rise across India 27

Supply 36

　Renewables and nuclear keep growing and setting records 36

　Share of renewables and nuclear in global generation to reach 50% by 2030 36

　Growth in renewables, natural gas and nuclear to meet additional demand 37

　Uncharacteristic trends in coal-fired generation during 2025 39

　Strong solar PV growth remains a common trend across the regions 41

Grids 46

　Grids are emerging as a bottleneck for connecting supply, demand and storage 46

　Grid technologies and regulatory reforms unlock grid capacity 46

　Record-high connection queues and rising curtailment as grids become congested 49

　More efficient use of grids via targeted regulatory and policy frameworks 51

　Grid-enhancing technology unlocks capacity 64

　Synchronisation of Baltic electricity system marked a major milestone 69

Flexibility 72

　Evolving generation and demand patterns reshape power system needs 72

　Demand response offers breakthrough benefits, yet potential is untapped 72

　Solar PV capture rates decline, but storage can boost system value 81

　Utility-scale batteries are strengthening system flexibility 84

　Managing high solar and wind output during low demand 97

Emissions 105

　Electricity sector emissions are increasingly decoupling from demand growth 105

　CO2 emissions from electricity generation are forecast to plateau through 2030 105

　Global CO2 intensity decline accelerates as low-carbon energy expands 106

Prices 109

　Affordability and competitiveness take centre stage 109

　Wholesale electricity prices continue to differ across regions 109

　Negative wholesale pricing trends diverged across markets in 2025 112

　Price gaps for energy-intensive industries persist 113

　Residential electricity prices remain elevated 117

Reliability 123

　Largescale outages amid system instability and weather impacts 123

　Voltage management increasingly important for power system stability 123

　Major power supply disruptions triggered by equipment failures 124

　Extreme weather events continued to cause major power outages 125

Regional Focus 128

　Asia Pacific 129

　　Electricity demand to increase strongly after mild weather tempered growth 129

　Americas 153

　　Solar PV and natural gas-fired generation see strong growth through 2030 153

　Europe 168

　　Power demand is increasingly met by renewables while coal use falls rapidly 168

　Eurasia 192

　　Russian electricity demand contracted, while regional growth stable in 2025 192

　Middle East 195

　　Gas-fired generation rises rapidly while renewables post sharp gains 195

　Africa 204

　　Growth supported by targeted efforts to expand electricity access 204

Annexes 216

　Summary tables 216

　Regional and country groupings 221

　Abbreviations and acronyms 223

　Units of measure 223