The movers and shakers of the global power industry gather in Kuala Lumpur this month, at the Conference of Electricity Power Supply Industry (CEPSI) 2018. This key industry event brings together 1,500 delegates, providing a global platform to explore the most transformative and essential topics in the electricity supply industry today.

CEPSI 2018 comes at a time when the global power industry is experiencing an unprecedented change, as transformative digital technologies emerge alongside increasingly distributed or diversified power solutions. In order to understand that landscape, we need to understand some of its big drivers. Here are 20 fast and fascinating facts framing the regional and global energy landscapes.

Electrifying the Asia-Pacific

• The Asia-Pacific accounts for 60% of global population, 50% of global energy supply, 33% of global GDP and 55% of total global emissions from fuel combustion
• Near-universal electrification of Asia-Pacific is predicted by 2030, up from 90.3% in 2014

Sustainability and Green Energy

• The current 1,000 gigawatts (GW) of worldwide installed solar and wind generation capacity is expected to double by 2023
• Renewable energy generation in Southeast Asia reached ~180 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2015, almost triple the amount generated in 2000
• US$210 billion annual investment is required to ensure appropriate levels of energy efficiency in Asia-Pacific by 2030

Generation and Future Alternatives

• Global electricity demand grew by 3.1% in the year 2016-2017, an increase of 780 TWh
• Asia-Pacific requires an estimated US$298 billion annual investment to meet its renewable energy goals
• Asia-Pacific accounted for over 73% of global coal consumption in 2016, up from 48% in 2000

Transmission and Future Grid

• US$195 billion was invested in Southeast Asia’s power grid from 2010-2017
• 160 GW of renewable energy capacity was added to global power grids in 2017

Distribution and Advanced Network

• 60% of new electricity consumers in Southeast Asia projected to be connected via micro-grid or off-grid solutions 2017-2030
• Global energy storage market set to grow by ~ 6000% by 2030, reaching 300 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from less than 5 GWh in 2016

Smart Grid and New Technology

• US$12.8 billion was invested in smart grid technologies in 2017
• 125 million electric vehicles are projected to travel roads globally by 2030
• US$1.3 trillion value to be unlocked by digital transformation of the global electricity sector by 2025

ICT, Innovation and Cybersecurity

• US$20 billion predicted savings annually from improved use of data analytics by power companies
• 63% of utility executives believe they face at least a moderate risk of electricity supply interruption from cyber-attacks in the next 5 years

Retail and Customer Service

• 11 billion smart appliances in over 1 billion homes predicted to participate in an interconnected electricity systems by 2040

Business Transformation and Others

• 42 countries now regulate with carbon pricing initiatives, more than double the number a decade ago
• Over 68% of global final energy use still not covered by mandatory energy efficiency standards