Page 4 - AsiaElec Week 03 2022

AsiaElec COMMENTARY AsiaElec

Coal dominates 6% rise in

power demand in 2021

GLOBAL GLOBAL electricity demand surged 6% in 2021, world was recovering from the global financial
the largest percentage increase since 2010, the crisis.
International Energy agency said on January 14. Electricity is central to modern life and clean
https://www.iea.org/news/surging-electric- electricity is pivotal to energy transitions, but
ity-demand-is-putting-power-systems-under- in the absence of faster structural change in the
strain-around-the-world sector, rising demand over the next three years
In absolute terms, 2021’s increase of over could result in additional market volatility and
1,500 TWh hours was the largest ever, the continued high emissions, the IEA warned.
IEA said in its semi-annual Electricity Market
Report. Chinese growth
In bad news for renewables, Coal generation The steep increase in demand outstripped the
grew by 9%, the highest increase of any fuel, ability of sources of electricity supply to keep
accounting for more than half of the increase in pace in some major markets, with shortages of
demand. natural gas and coal leading to volatile prices,
Global coal consumption for generation demand destruction and negative effects on
reached a new all-time peak as high natural gas power generators, retailers and end users, nota-
prices led to gas-to-coal switching. bly in China, Europe and India.
Around half of last year’s global growth in
Market volatility electricity demand took place in China, where
Higher demand is creating strains in major mar- demand grew by an estimated 10%.
kets, pushing prices to unprecedented levels and China and India suffered from power cuts
driving the power sector’s emissions to a record at certain points in the second half of the year
high, the agency warned. because of coal shortages.
Driven by the rapid economic rebound, and “Sharp spikes in electricity prices in recent
more extreme weather conditions than in 2020, times have been causing hardship for many
including a colder than average winter, last year’s households and businesses around the world
6% rise in global electricity demand was the and risk becoming a driver of social and polit-
largest in percentage terms since 2010 when the ical tensions,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih

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