Global Estimates of Energy Efficiency Savings in Electricity Supply

Global primary energy supply for electricity generation increased at a CAGR of 3.3% and electricity generation grew 4.1% during 1990–2020. Higher electricity generation for the same primary energy supply was achieved due to changes in the fuels used, and improvements in the efficiency of the electricity system. This study shows how these factors contributed to the change in the primary energy supply for electricity generation globally during 1990–2020. Using the log-mean divisia index, the changes in electricity generation energy use are decomposed into three main effects—demand, fuel mix, and efficiency. The demand effect exceeded the total energy used in 1990. Energy efficiency and fuel mix savings could offset one-third of the demand effect. The energy efficiency improvements contributed to one-third of the savings and the remaining two-thirds was due to the changes in fuels in the primary energy supply for electricity generation.