The shift toward electrification is accelerating worldwide, with leading economies demonstrating how policy, economics, and innovation can drive the energy transition. Countries such as China, Norway, Indonesia, and Texas in the United States are witnessing a notable rise in the proportion of electricity used in final energy consumption, signaling a broader transformation in how energy is produced and consumed.
According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), several nations have made significant progress. China has increased electricity’s share in total final energy use by over 10 percentage points within ten years. Norway already exceeds 50% electric energy use, while South Korea leads in industrial electrification, with more than half of its industrial energy coming from electricity. Indonesia shows the fastest growth in electricity adoption within its industrial sector, and Texas, once dominated by fossil fuels, now experiences one of the steepest increases in electricity consumption across the U.S.
Three primary factors underpin this momentum. First, strong policy frameworks have proven essential. In China, state-driven mandates—such as those promoting new energy vehicles (NEVs) and industrial electrification—are central to meeting carbon peaking and neutrality goals. Indonesia’s mineral processing policy, known as “hilirisasi,” has also boosted electricity use in refining, despite debate over its broader impacts.
Second, financial incentives play a crucial role. Low electricity prices, driven by abundant renewables or competitive markets, encourage a switch from fossil fuels. Norway and Texas benefit from cost-effective power, attracting energy-intensive industries. Subsidies further accelerate adoption—examples include China’s NEV trade-in incentives and Norway’s support for residential heat pumps.
Third, technological progress continues to expand electrification’s reach. Advances in electric vehicles, heat pumps, and digital infrastructure have improved efficiency and usability. The integration of AI, 5G, and IoT into power systems—such as China Southern Power Grid’s Digital Power Grid initiative—enhances flexibility and responsiveness.
However, growing demand poses a major challenge: grid capacity. Without sufficient transmission infrastructure, increased electricity use cannot be sustained. The IEA estimates that 80 million kilometers of new or upgraded grids will be needed by 2040—equivalent to the world’s current total. China has taken a proactive approach with high-voltage direct current networks, while Texas employs merchant transmission models to expand capacity.
Reliability is another concern, especially for high-precision sectors like data centers and advanced manufacturing. South Korea’s smart grid development, supported by national legislation since 2011, exemplifies how technology can strengthen grid stability. Texas is exploring greater regional interconnection to prevent blackouts like those during the 2021 winter storm. Indonesia is also considering regional grid integration under the ASEAN Power Grid initiative.
Flexibility remains underutilized. While electrification strains infrastructure, it also introduces opportunities—smart appliances and EVs can act as responsive loads, helping balance supply and demand. These “flexumers” could play a vital role in optimizing existing systems.
The evidence suggests that successful electrification is not a short-term effort but a long-term strategy combining consistent policy, economic motivation, and technological evolution. Emerging economies can draw lessons from these leaders, adapting strategies to local conditions. As electricity becomes a cornerstone of industrial strength, the global push for a clean energy future must intensify.
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Insights on electrification for the global energy transition
Energy Transition n nLessons on electrification from economies leading the way on the energy transition n nNov 22, 2025 n nPolicy frameworks, financial benefits and technological advances are major enabling factors for the energy transition. Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto n nWaisheng Zheng n nPresident, Electric Power Research Institute , China Southern Power Grid n nKristen Panerali n nHead, Clean Power and Electrification , World Economic Forum n nThis article is part of: Centre for Energy and Materials n nThe share of electricity in final energy consumption has been trending upwards significantly in pioneering economies such as China, Norway and Texas. n nAnalysis shows that policy frameworks, financial benefits and technological advances are major enabling factors for the energy transition. n nGrid readiness, leveraging its capacity, reliability and flexibility, is also a vital factor in accelerating the global move towards clean energy. n nThe share of electricity in final energy consumption has been trending upwards significantly in pioneering economies, a trajectory that will be key for the global move towards clean energy. But what lessons can be learned for others? n nElectric technologies are typically more efficient than their fossil fuel equivalents and one of their major benefits is enabling integration of renewables through the coupling of different energy sectors – making electrification a key lever in the global energy transition. n nIndeed, electricity ‘s share in final energy consumption is expected to rise from 21% in 2024 to around 30% by 2030 to align with net-zero pathways, with electricity quietly becoming a new measure of industrial power. n nYet while major economies are replacing fossil fuels such as oil and gas with electrons, progress is uneven. Some economies – notably China, Norway, Indonesia and the US state of Texas – are electrifying faster than others. n nHere, we take a closer look at the data to reveal what is driving their lead, what challenges lie ahead and what it will take for others to catch up. n nGlobal pioneers for electrification n nShare of electricity can’t be the only indicator of electrification as it reflects the increasing demand across different sectors due to industrial electrification, increased uptake of electric vehicles (EV), and artificial intelligence (AI) growth and cooling needs. n nThe change of electricity share, though, can indicate specific enablers that lead to the transformation. Drawing from multi-year statistics shared by International Energy Agency (IEA) and the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), we have identified a few factors that stand out: n nChina has increased its share of electricity in total final energy consumption by more than 10 percentage points in a decade, with massive capacity. n nIndonesia presents the highest growth in share of electricity in industry final energy consumption. n nSouth Korea excels in industry electrification, with electricity’s share in total final industry energy consumption at above 50% and still increasing. n nNorway remains a consistent frontrunner, with more than half of its final energy use already electric. n nTexas, once a symbol of oil and gas, now records one of the US’s steepest rises in electricity use, with a 10-year growth in electricity’s share of total final energy consumption well above US average level. n nEnablers behind the energy transition n nDrivers for electrification are more or less the same for the electrification pioneers – i.e., decarbonization, energy security and economic goals – with countries like China seeking to achieve its dual carbon goals of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 through renewable energy generation. n nEven resource-rich nations such as Norway have historically used electrification strategically instead of domestic oil and gas consumption. n nHow different economies electrify varies significantly, adapted to their local contexts in terms of geography, energy mix, market, etc. Nevertheless, according to our analysis, three main enablers stand out: n nPolicy frameworks prove foundational across all pioneers, though implementation varies. China ‘s state-led electrification journey demonstrates how systematic state action can drive electrification in all sectors through policy and regulations, such as its new energy vehicle (NEV) mandate and state-level action plan, to accelerate the electrification of industry end-use energy. Elsewhere, Indonesia ‘s “hilirisasi” policy to promote mineral downstreaming, although controversial, significantly inflates the share of electricity in the mineral refining industrial energy mix. n nFinancial benefits directly stimulate energy consumption, transitioning from fossil fuels to electricity. In Norway and the US state of Texas, cheap electricity prices due to abundant renewable energy or a competitive electricity market attract electrification even in the traditional oil and gas industry. Meanwhile, direct subsidies catalyse adoption of electrical alternatives – such as China ‘s NEV trade-in subsidies and Norway’s subsidies for residential heat pumps. n nTechnological advances open up new space for electricity-intensive applications. Recent years have seen rapid improvement in the technology readiness level of artificial intelligence (AI) and relevant applications booming and becoming part of daily life, not to mention EV technology maturity boosting transport electrification and heat pump technological breakthroughs paving the way for broader implementation in industry and beyond. n nUnavoidable hurdle for electrification scale-up n nDriven by growing electrification, electricity demand is expected to keep increasing and hit the bottleneck of existing grids. Electrification efforts on the demand side would be largely in vain without sufficient channels to transfer electricity from source to demand. n nGrid readiness, that leverages a combination of its capacity, reliability and flexibility, is therefore the ultimate foundation for electrification. However, our analysis shows that this requires: n nCapacity needs to be enhanced to accommodate both renewable generation and load without congestion. Grid infrastructure must precede demand growth. The IEA finds the world must add or replace 80 million kilometres of grids by 2040, equal to all grids globally today. State-led investment has made China a frontrunner in grid upgrades, with China Southern Power Grid being a global leader in high-voltage direct current transmission networks connecting remote renewables to demand centres. Merchant transmission has also been proven to be another option successfully practiced in Texas for grid-enhancing investment. n nReliability becomes increasingly important to meet the needs of emerging loads known for their high power quality requirement, such as advanced manufacturing and data centres. South Korea has one of the top reliable grids, which is attributed to its smart grid technology that has been going through planning, introduction and development process under a national promotion act since 2011. Meanwhile, the Texas grid has been evaluating broader interconnection to enhance reliability undermined by extreme weather events, like the 2021 winter storm that hit the state with historically low temperatures and snow, leading to the implementation of rolling blackouts to manage energy. Regional interconnection has also been proposed in Indonesia as a part of ASEAN Power Grid initiative. n nFlexibility brought about by electrification remains to be tapped. Electrification stresses grid infrastructure, but the other side of the coin is that electrification technologies like smart appliances and EVs, acting as flexible users or “flexumers”, provide opportunities to leverage flexibility with existing infrastructure. The Digital Power Grids initiated by China Southern Power Grid provide a comprehensive digital transformation strategy through integration of data assets, 5G, AI and the internet of things, thereby facilitating flexible utilization. n nAs highlighted above, pioneering economies have proven that the electrification journey is not a sprint but a marathon of sustained policy, benefit creation and technological innovation – with a reliable, flexible grid with sufficient capacity acting as the backbone of electrification. n nThe imperative is for latecomers to learn from and adapt such blueprints with localized context and leverage the proven strategies to accelerate their own energy transition journey. The age of electricity is here, and the time for a focused, determined push is now. n nThe authors would like to thank Yingjie Tan (Senior Research Engineer, Electric Power Research Institute, China Southern Power Grid), Eleni Kemene (Lead, Materials Systems, World Economic Forum), Espen Mehlum (Head, Energy, World Economic Forum) and Kaiqi Hu (Strategy Consultant, Accenture) for their valuable contributions and feedback. n nDon ‘t miss any update on this topic n nCreate a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses. n nSign up for free n nLicense and Republishing n nWorld Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use. n nThe views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum. n nStay up to date: n nEnergy Transition n nMore on Energy Transition n nSee all n nWe’re not on track for net zero by 2050. 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