BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 24. Eurasia's electricity demand growth is expected to stand at 1.2 percent over the 2024-2026 period, Trend reports.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), despite the challenging economic climate, consumption levels in Eurasian countries show signs of recovery in 2023.
After experiencing an annual average growth rate of 1.5 percent from 2015 to 2019, the growth in Eurasia's electricity consumption slowed to 1 percent in 2022, the agency noted.
Preliminary data indicates a rebound in the region's electricity demand growth to around 1.5 percent in 2023, with Russia contributing to about half of the incremental demand. The anticipated demand growth for the region is projected to stay subdued in 2024-2016 compared to the pre-war period.
As per the IEA's forecast, fossil-fired generation is slated to maintain dominance in Eurasia's electricity mix, holding a share of approximately 66 percent throughout the forecast period. Despite a gradual pace in renewables deployment, the improvement in nuclear availability in Russia is anticipated to reduce the CO2 intensity of power generation from 388 g CO2/kWh in 2023 to 382 g CO2/kWh in 2026.
Anticipated to increase at an average annual growth rate of 3.5 percent in the period from 2024 to 2026, electricity demand in Eurasia (excluding Kazakhstan and Russia) is expected to be primarily driven by the region's growing population and economic expansion, the IEA added.