Power Demand Is Surging Faster Than Grids Can Keep Up

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.