The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global electricity demand will increase by more than 4 percent in both 2024 and 2025. This is a break from the trend: in recent years, the increase has been less than 3 percent.
India, Mexico, Pakistan and the United States, among others, have suffered heat waves in recent months. Dozens of Indian residents have died due to the heat wave that has hit the country since May. At the end of May, the highest temperature ever recorded in India was 52.3 degrees in the capital, New Delhi.
Air conditioners and fans are straining the power grid. On May 30, peak power consumption was 250 gigawatts, an amount never before needed from the Indian power grid. Nearly 40 percent of India’s population experienced daily power outages during the heat wave, Bloomberg reports.
Extreme heat not only leads to increased demand for electricity, but can also be disastrous for power generation. When water levels are lower due to drought, the performance of hydropower plants is lower. In India, 8 percent less hydroelectric electricity was produced in the first half of 2024 than the previous year.
Economic growth in China is another important driver of energy demand, although it is not as high as it once was. Over the past three years, China’s energy consumption has increased every year by as much as Germany’s total consumption.
