s t a t i s t i c s Key Electricity

Trends
Excerpt from :
Electricity information

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The following analysis is an excerpt from the publication “Electricity Information (2016 edition)”.
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 EXCERPT FROM ELECTRICITY INFORMATION (2016 edition) - 3
KEY ELECTRICITY TRENDS
ELECTRICITY SUMMARY
Production
Between 1974 and 2014, world gross electricity pro-
duction increased from 6 287 TWh to 23 815 TWh, an
average annual growth rate of 3.4%. It was 1.9%
higher than 2013. The growth was positive for a fifth
year in a row after the economic crisis in OECD coun-
tries caused a visible decline in global production be-
tween 2008 and 2009.
Figure 1: Total gross electricity production
14000
12000
10000
8000
TWh
6000
4000
2000
0
1974 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2014
Non-OECD OECD
The increasing share of non-OECD countries in total
world electricity production reflects the higher average
growth rate which has prevailed in the non-OECD
regions, since 2000. From 1974 to 2000, electricity
production has increased at an average annual rate of
3.0% in OECD countries, and 4.6% in non-OECD
countries. However from 2000 to 2014, the average
annual growth was only 0.7% in OECD countries
while it was 6.1% in non-OECD countries. In 2011
non-OECD electricity production exceeded OECD
production for the first time. In 2014, the non OECD
countries represented 54.7% of the world electricity
generation, against only 28.1% in 1974.
In 2014, 66.7% of world electricity production was from
fossil fuel generating plants. Hydroelectric plants pro-
vided 16.4%, nuclear plants 10.6%, biofuels and waste
2.1%, and geothermal, solar, wind and other sources
made up the remaining 4.2%.
Figure 2: World gross electricity production,
by source, 2014
Solar, wind, Biofuels
geoth., tide and waste
4.2% 2.1%
Hydro
16.4%
Coal
40.8%
Nuclear
10.6%
Natural gas
21.6%
Oil
4.3%
OECD production
Gross electricity production in the OECD (including
generation from pumped storage plants) reached
10 822 TWh in provisional 2015 figures. This repre-
sents a decrease of 0.2% compared to 2014. The
OECD Electricity generation has been generally de-
creasing since 2010, with total OECD electricity pro-
duction in 2015 lower than its 2007 level.
Between 2014 and 2015, there was a decrease in elec-
tricity production from fossil fuels notably coal (-7.6%),
and oil (-10.6%). Nuclear energy slightly decreased
(-0.4%). Meanwhile, electricity from natural gas
(+7.2%), and renewable sources such as wind (+16.0%),
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4 - EXCERPT FROM ELECTRICITY INFORMATION (2016 edition)

solar (+17.8%) and biofuels (+2.5%) have increased. Non-OECD production

Hydroelectricity also slightly decreased (-1.9%).
While complete statistics are not available for electrici-
Figure 3: OECD gross electricity production ty production in all non-OECD countries for 2015,
variation 2014-2015
comprehensive data are available for 2014. Gross elec-
10900 tricity production in 2014 in non-OECD countries was
13 056 TWh, an increase of 4.2% on the 2013 level, in
10800 contrast to a decrease of 0.5% in the gross production
of the OECD countries between 2013 and 2014.
10700
TWh

In 2014, 73.0% of non-OECD electricity production

10600 was generated from fossil fuels, and 1.3% from bio-
fuels and wastes, 19.1% was provided by hydro-
10500
electric plants, 4.3% by nuclear plants and 2.3% by
0
10400
geothermal/solar/wind energy.
Figure 5: Non-OECD gross electricity production,
by source, 2014

Solar, wind, Biofuels

geoth., tide and waste
2.3% 1.3%

In 2015, nuclear plants accounted for 18.3% of total Hydro

OECD gross electricity production, hydroelectric 19.1%
plants 12.8%, total combustible fuel 1 plants 61.3% Nuclear Coal
(made up of 58.2% from fossil-fuel-fired plants and 4.3% 47.8%
3.1% from biofuels and waste plants) and geothermal, Natural gas
solar, wind and other plants 7.5%. 19.5%

Figure 4: OECD gross electricity production,

by source, 2015
Oil
Biofuels 5.7%
Solar, wind, and waste
geoth., tide 3.1%
7.5%
OECD capacity
Capacity data are available only for OECD countries
Hydro Coal
12.8% 29.9% and up to the year 2014.
In 2014, the OECD countries reported 2 862 GW of
Nuclear total installed capacity, a 2.3% increase from 2013.
18.3% This consisted of 1 725 GW of plants fired by fossil
Natural gas and other combustible fuels, 302 GW nuclear power,
Oil
26.0%
2.3% 472 GW hydroelectric power (including pumped stor-
age capacity), 214 GW of wind, 137 GW of solar (of
which 132 GW solar photovoltaic) and 12 GW of geo-
thermal, tide/wave/ocean and other capacity com-
bined. A total of 65.1 GW capacity was added in 2014
with the biggest contributors being solar PV (34.5%),
wind (29.4%), and combustible fuel (28.5 %), mostly
1. Combustible fuels refer to fuel that are capable of igniting or composed of natural gas plants (21.4%).
burning, i.e. reacting with oxygen to produce a significant rise in
temperature. Fuels included are: coal and coal products, oil and oil Total generating capacity in the OECD increased at an
products, natural gas, biofuels including solid biomass and animal
products, gas/liquids from biomass, industrial waste and municipal
average annual rate of 2.9% between 1974 and 2000,
waste. with nuclear, hydroelectric and combustible fuel

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 EXCERPT FROM ELECTRICITY INFORMATION (2016 edition) - 5

capacity increasing by average annual rates of 6.9%, Figure 7: World electricity final consumption
3.4%, and 2.2%, respectively. By comparison, be- by sector
tween 2000 and 2014 the total generating capacity 25000
increased at an average annual rate of 2.3%, with nu-
20000
clear broadly unchanged (+0.0%), hydro-electric and
combustible fuels increasing by 1.0%, and 1.9%, re- 15000
spectively. However, in this period there were sub-

TWh
stantial additions of solar PV and wind capacity, in- 10000
creasing at an average annual rate of 44.6% and
5000
17.4%, respectively, as many countries began to in-
vest in renewable energy resources. 0
1974 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2014
Figure 6: OECD net electrical capacity by source
Others*
3500 Transport
Commercial and public services
3000 Residential
2500 Industry

2000 * includes Agriculture and forestry, fishing, and other non-specified

GW

1500
Figure 8: OECD electricity final consumption
1000
by sector, 2014
500
0 Others*
1974 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2014 4.0%

Combustible fuels Nuclear

Hydro Wind
Commercial
Solar Other sources* and Industry
public 32.0%
* includes geothermal, tide, wave, ocean, chemical heat and other non-
specified (e.g. fuel cells) sources of electricity production. services
31.6%

The slower overall growth of total capacity additions Residential

is partly attributable to economic change, which has
resulted in the growth of less energy intensive service
industries. The OECD-wide pattern of electric power
capacity and production conceals large differences
between countries. These differences reflect different
resource endowments and economics of electricity
generation, as well as different policy approaches be-
tween countries.
Consumption
The world total final electricity consumption in 2014
reached 19841 TWh, an increase of 1.7% over 2013
figure. The average growth rate of electricity final
consumption in the world since 1974 was 3.4%.
OECD consumption
In 2014, total final electricity consumption was
9 320 TWh, a decrease of 0.6% compared to 2013.
Provisional data for 2015 show gross supply of elec-
tricity in the OECD was 9 300TWh, a 0.2% decrease
compared to 2014.
31.3%
Transport
1.1%
* includes Agriculture and forestry, fishing, and other non-specified
Much of the growth in OECD electricity consumption
since 1974 has taken place in the residential and
commercial/public service sectors. The combined
share of total consumption of the residential and
commercial/public service sectors increased from
48.4% in 1974 to 63.0% in 2014. Although the
amount of electricity consumed in industry increased
from 1 874 TWh in 1974 to 2 983 TWh in 2014, its
share of total electricity consumption in the OECD
fell from 48.8% in 1974 to 32.0% in 2014. Some
OECD countries show different consumption patterns,
such as Korea where 53.3% of electricity was con-
sumed in the industry sector in 2014, and only 12.9%
in the residential sector.
Industry has been the most significant end-use sector for
electricity consumption during many years. However, it
has lost its premium position in 2009 to commercial

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6 - EXCERPT FROM ELECTRICITY INFORMATION (2016 edition)
and public services and residential. The low rates of
economic growth, the structural change and the im-
provements in efficiency in energy intensive manufac-
turing and processing industries resulted in the relative-
ly low growth rates since 1974 in the industry sector
electricity consumption compared to the residential and
commercial and public services sectors. These three
sectors since 2009 reach comparable level of electricity
consumption. OECD industrial electricity consumption
decreased by 0.5% in 2014, indicating that the recovery
of the industry from the economic crisis is over. The
largest decreases in 2014 were seen in the paper, pulp
and printing sector (-11.2%). While the largest increas-
es in 2014 have been witnessed in the wood and wood
products sector (+5.2%).
Figure 9: OECD average annual growth rate in
electricity final consumption by sector
-2.0% 0.0% 2.0% 4.0% 6.0% 8.0% 10.0% 12.0%
Industry
Transport
Residential
Commercial and
public services
Others*
1974-2000 2000-2014
* includes Agriculture and forestry, fishing, and other non-specified
The transport (mainly rail), agriculture (mainly irriga-
tion pumps) and fishing sectors are relatively small
consumers of electricity. However, the road transport
sector witnessed since 2010 double digit growths
(+19.6% in 2014) underling the increasing electrifica-
tion of the transport sector.
Non-OECD consumption
In 2014, final electricity consumption, in non-OECD
countries was 10 520 TWh, an increase of 3.9% from
the observed consumption in 2013. Between 1974 and
2014 final electricity consumption increased at an
average annual rate of 5.1%. Non-OECD countries’
share of world electricity final consumption increased
from 26.0% in 1973 to 53.0% in 2014.
The four highest consumers of electricity in non-
OECD countries in 2014, the People’s Republic of
China, India, the Russian Federation and Brazil, rep-
resent 65.6% of non-OECD electricity consumption.
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The largest share is represented by the People’s
Republic of China at 44.8%.
Figure 10: Non-OECD electricity final consumption
by sector, 2014
Commercial
and public
services Others*
14% 9%
Industry
52%
Residential
23%
Transport
2%
* includes Agriculture and forestry, fishing, and other non-specified
Transmission and distribution losses represent in 2014
10.5% of electricity supply for non-OECD countries,
while it was 6.6% for OECD countries. Due also to
non-technical losses, total transmission and distribu-
tion losses can reach over 25% of the electricity sup-
ply in some non-OECD countries such as Haiti,
Congo, Honduras, Paraguay, Myanmar and Iraq, to
name a few.
Trade
Transfers of electricity between utilities in neighbour-
ing regions have been common for many years. Ex-
changes based on differences in national production
costs between regions are economically efficient, and
fluctuations in load can be balanced by exchanges
with neighbouring utilities with different load profiles.
Such exchanges reduce the overall reserve margins
needed by diversifying the potential sources of sup-
ply. Surplus capacity in a neighbouring region can
result not only from simple differences in load timing,
but also from differences in climate (e.g. seasonal
peaks or renewable resources), economic structure, or
the timing of forced and scheduled unit outages.
Often when reporting electricity flows, countries use
electricity trade as a “balancing” item. This leads to
considerable variation in import and export data. In
addition, the transmission and distribution line losses
between net importers and net exporters are difficult
to determine. Both of these factors lead to differences
between reported net imports and net exports in trad-
ing countries.
 EXCERPT FROM ELECTRICITY INFORMATION (2016 edition) - 7

OECD electricity trade compensate lower generation, in Greece for example

the net imports increased by 6 TWh between 2013 and
OECD imports of electricity grew from 88 TWh in 1974 2014, as the net production decreased by the same
to 510 TWh in 2015, an average annual growth rate of amount. A similar pattern can be seen in the UK and
4.3%. OECD exports of electricity grew from 81 TWh in Belgium from 2013.
in 1974 to 511 TWh in 2015, an average annual
growth rate of 4.5%. Non-OECD electricity trade
Figure 11: OECD Europe electricity imports When considered as a single entity, non-OECD coun-
and exports tries were net importers of electricity. In 2014, these
countries reported electricity imports of 238 TWh and
500
electricity exports of 215 TWh, resulting in net im-
400
ports of 23 TWh.
300
200
Outside of the OECD there is substantial electricity trade
between Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and
100
TWh

other countries of the former Soviet Union. These coun-

0
1974 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015P tries export significant quantities of electricity to net
-100 importing countries such as Belarus, Moldova, and
-200 Latvia as well as to countries in central and Western
-300 Europe.
-400
In South America, electricity produced by large hydro-
-500 electric plants in Paraguay is exported to Brazil and
Imports Exports
Argentina (in 2014, net exports from Paraguay were
41.4 TWh).
Figure 12: OECD Europe net importers In Africa, there is significant trade in the southern
and exporters of electricity (GWh) portion of the continent. South Africa exports a signif-
icant amount of power to Zimbabwe. Mozambique,
Net Exporter
which has been a net electricity importer, became a
Net Importer net exporter in 1998 as a new hydro project came into
service. In 2014, net exports of South Africa were
+ 14 644
- 16 337 2.7 TWh, and net exports of Mozambique were
+ 22 603
2.5 TWh.
+ 925

- 673 - 5 912
India imports a significant amount of electricity
- 20 938 (5.0 TWh of net imports in 2014), a substantial part of
- 8 749
- 5 600 + 48 282
+ 334 which is produced by hydro facilities in Bhutan.
+ 64 048 - 2 348
+ 1 035 - 10 057
- 46 381 +48
- 13 687 OECD prices
- 2 266
+133
Average real electricity price in the OECD decreased
- 9 609 - 4 446 by 0.3% in 2015 from 2014 levels. Prices for industry
decreased by 0.6% and prices for households in-
creased by 0.1%.
Substantial trade in electricity occurs in OECD Electricity prices for consumers vary widely across
Europe, principally between OECD countries, and in OECD countries. Based on available 2015 data, elec-
OECD Americas. In OECD Europe, electricity im- tricity prices for industry were the lowest in the
ports grew at an average annual rate of 4.5% between Norway (35.34 USD per MWh), while they were the
1974 and 2015. In OECD Americas, total imports highest in Italy (263.33 USD per MWh. Electricity
increased by an average annual rate of 3.9% between prices for households varied from 75.33 USD per
1974 and 2015. The trade can be used sometime to MWh in Mexico to 337.38 USD per MWh in Denmark.

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