ASTANA – The global energy transition is often discussed through the language of climate targets, emissions cuts and renewable energy. Yet the next stage of the transformation may be defined by a more practical question: how much economic activity can countries run on electricity, and how efficiently can they do it?
According to Clem Perry, global lead for clean energy supply at the World Resources Institute (WRI) Polsky Center for the Global Energy Transition, electrification is moving beyond a climate strategy to become a question of affordability, competitiveness, energy security and resilience to volatile fossil fuel markets.
The shift is visible in electric buses, heat pumps, electric vehicles and increasingly electrified industrial processes, but its implications extend far beyond individual technologies. The global economy still has a long way to go. According to WRI, electricity accounts for about 20% of final energy use globally, with the share approaching 30% in China, compared with roughly 22% in the United States and 21% in the European Union.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says global electric car sales exceeded 20 million in 2025, with electric cars accounting for one in four new cars sold worldwide. These figures point to a structural change rather than a temporary technology trend.
More economic activity is shifting from direct fossil-fuel combustion toward electricity, from transport and buildings to industrial equipment. But electrification does not necessarily mean consuming more energy. Its economic logic lies partly in efficiency. Perry notes that combustion engines can waste as much as 80% of the energy contained in fuel, while electric motors can convert around 80% of electrical energy into motion.
Heat pumps can deliver several units of heat for each unit of electricity consumed. This means an economy can use more electricity while using less energy overall to achieve the same output. This creates a second, less obvious transformation: as households and businesses electrify transport and heating, electricity consumption may rise while overall energy costs can fall because electric technologies are more efficient.
Avoided fossil-fuel costs can offset higher electricity costs, although the scale of savings varies by market and technology. WRI cites an analysis estimating that fully electrifying a typical European household’s heating and transport could cut its overall energy bill by more than half.
But the transition also exposes a new constraint: electricity networks. The challenge facing many economies will not only be whether they can generate enough power, but whether their grids can deliver it at the right place and at the right time. Electric vehicles, industrial facilities, data centers, cooling systems and new housing are all adding demand to networks that in many countries are already under pressure.
This is where the next phase of electrification becomes more sophisticated. Not every new megawatt of demand requires another megawatt of generation. Some consumption can be shifted in time. Electric vehicles can charge overnight, buildings can pre-heat or pre-cool, and batteries, water heaters and certain industrial processes can respond to periods of grid congestion.
Smart controls can automate much of this without requiring consumers to change their daily routines. Why electrification matters for Kazakhstan’s competitiveness For Kazakhstan, this global trend is becoming increasingly relevant. The country is seeking to expand industrial production, transport, digital infrastructure and data centers — all areas that depend on reliable and increasingly large amounts of electricity.