Page 4 - AfrElec Week 03 2022

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

Coal dominates 6% rise in

power demand in 2021

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

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 03 20•January•2022