Global electricity demand is set to grow at an accelerated pace and Asia will account for half of the world’s electricity consumption by 2025, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said. More than 70 percent of the growth in global electricity demand is set to come from developing economies, led by China, India and Southeast Asia.

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Of these countries, China is expected to lead in absolute growth with an increase of 58 TWh from 2022 to 2025, while India is set to have the highest percentage growth with an increase of 81 percent, IEA said.

The electricity demand in the Asia Pacific region grew significantly in 2022, estimated 3.3 percent, driven by a strong increase in India and offset to some extent by subdued growth in China. The reason for the slowdown in China's electricity demand growth was attributed to the country's zero-Covid policy, which had an impact on the overall economy.

It is interesting to note that India's electricity demand grew at a much faster rate than China's in 2022, which could be due to a variety of factors, including population growth, economic expansion, and increasing urbanisation.

Also Read: IEA chief says India is a major, single-most important driver of energy demand growth

The demand in the two countries represented about 70 percent of the region’s total electricity consumption of 13,500 TWh, which accounts for approximately 50 percent of global consumption.

The report underlined that despite a record heatwave in 2022, the hydropower generation in India increased by over 10 percent above its 2017-2021 average.

"Presently, coal dominates the Indian electricity mix (74 percent). We expect nuclear output to rise by over 80 percent during the forecast period, to 83 TWh, but to remain a small component at 4 percent of the mix in 2025," IEA said.

It said that while coal-fired generation rose by 7.7 percent in 2022, gas-fired output fell by 36 percent in 2022 due to higher imported gas prices. "Total coal-fired generation is set to rise to 2025, but we expect its share to fall to 69 percent in the generation mix in 2025, as the share of renewables reaches 25 percent," the IEA report states.

For China, IEA expects low-carbon energy to account for 41 percent of electricity generation by 2025, thus exceeding the objective set at 39 percent in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, owing to the fast development of wind and solar PV.

Speaking about India's efforts toward green energy transition, IEA Executive director, Fatih Birol, in an interview with CNBC-TV18 had said that the growth in renewables in India is much higher than expected and was the highest in history in 2022. "This is particularly exciting news when it comes to solar, wind and hydrogen energy, as India is doing an excellent job in these areas."

Also Read: Davos 2023 | India's growth in renewable energy higher than expected, says International Energy Agency director