The world will add more than a Japan’s worth of electricity consumption each year until 2027, per the IEA

We’re about to raise the curtain and welcome in a “new Age of Electricity,” per the latest annual electricity report from the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental watchdog established in 1974.

Per new IEA estimates, the world’s electricity consumption will grow at almost 4% over the next three years, up from the 3.4% it had forecast previously. The IEA singles out the transition to electric vehicles, data centers, and continued demand for air conditioning as contributing to the surge.

The “unprecedented” 3,500 TWh growth is not spread evenly across the globe, of course, with developing countries expected to account for 85% of the uptick. China’s consumption is expected to grow by 6% each year, building on decades of rapid electricity output growth.

Though China may be driving much of the power surge, economic expansion in India and Southeast Asian countries is also creating demand.

However, advanced economies — where total and per-capita electricity demand has stayed relatively flat or actually declined over the last 15 years — will also see consumption rates rise, the Paris-based agency said, as AC installations, increased EV uptake, and the burgeoning crop of AI data centers are all increasing the demand on power grids. The latter of those points will weigh particularly heavily on US demand in the next three years, where consumption is forecast to rise 2% each year.