Global electricity demand to slow down in 2022: report

It is expected to grow by 2.4% this year, down from the 6% rise in 2021.

Following a 6% increase in 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the global electricity demand in 2022 to grow by 2.4%, due to the high electricity prices and a slowdown in economic activity.

In the Electricity Market Report, the IEA said the forecast is lower than the about 3% expected at the beginning of the year and is about the same as the average from 2015 to 2019. 

“While the wearing off of rapid economic recovery that boosted demand in 2021 was to be expected, several developments during the first half of 2022 negatively impacted the demand outlook,” it said.

The IEA noted that energy prices remain high due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, resulting in overall high commodity prices. With the high inflation rates, central banks globally turned to increase interest rates.

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It added that the strict sanitary measures in China affected industrial production, increasing tension in the “already tight” global supply chain. The slowdown in economic activity “triggered declining consumption,” noting that the industry accounts for over 40% of final electricity demand and 20% is by commercial and services sector.

India, on the other hand, is an exception as the unusually hot temperatures in the second quarter of 2022 boosted electricity demand to a new record.

Global demand growth rates for 2023 are expected to be similar to the 2022 forecast, and a similar global economic growth.