Power Demand Is Surging Faster Than Grids Can Keep Up

AI Summary

Electricity demand is rising rapidly after years of stagnation in several developed markets, driven by data centers, electrification, and industrial growth. The surge is challenging existing grid capacity and prompting policymakers, power generators, and grid operators to revise long-term expectations.

After years of stagnation in key developed markets, power demand is rising again at a pace not seen in decades as data centers, electrification, and industrialization drive a surge in electricity consumption. The Age of Electricity, as the International Energy Agency (IEA) put it in its 2026 Electricity report, is gathering pace, changing long-term assumptions and forecasts about power markets in all regions, and posing new challenges for policymakers, power generators, and grid operators. One common feature in the Age of Electricity is that power…