As risks multiply in a world thirsty for energy, diversification and cooperation are more urgent than ever
"- Electricity is at the heart of modern economies, and electricity demand grows much faster than overall energy use in all scenarios in WEO-2025.
- Breakneck demand growth from data centres and AI is helping drive up electricity use in advanced economies, too.
- A pivotal issue for energy security in the Age of Electricity is the speed at which new grids, storage and other sources of power system flexibility are put in place."
Policymakers - How are you planning to help the needed speed? The best approach is seldom used: unleashing entrepreneurs and private investors and their creative abilities. For too long most if not the entire world has boxed the electricity sector into a slow moving, bureaucratic, heavily regulated space, whether via traditional monopoly utilities or via centrally planned wholesale energy markets. Now we are suffering the consequences. "Consumer Regulated Electricity" (CRE) is one approach to unleashing the power of the market. Markets have eliminated almost all extreme poverty from the globe. Surely they can tackle your electricity challenges.
