elec

Electricity demand from buildings is growing rapidly. In 2024, buildings accounted for nearly 60% of global electricity demand growth, and in a Net-Zero scenario are expected to represent around half of total electricity consumption (IEA). Demand is set to increase rapidly particularly in emerging and developing economies (EMDEs) driven by surging electrification in industry and manufacturing, rising cooling needs due to extreme heat and urbanization and, increasingly, new loads like EV charging and data centers. At the same time, the growing share of renewable power is transforming the way electricity systems are planned and managed.  This shift requires power systems that are more flexible, responsive, and capable of balancing supply and demand in real time. 

Buildings sit at the centre of this transition. Many of the key electricity uses such as heating and cooling, EV charging and distributed energy systems are connected to the power grid through buildings. This provides the opportunity to monitor, control and coordinate demand in response to grid conditions and the availability of renewable power. However, buildings are still treated primarily as passive loads, leaving a major flexibility resource untapped, and adding avoidable stress to already constrained grids.   

Through well-designed demand side measures, the growing energy consumption in buildings can be turned into a flexible, dispatchable resource. If enabled by the right policies and viable business models, building loads can be transformed into controllable assets that support grid stability, enable higher integration of wind and solar and strengthen power system resilience. Despite this potential, demand-side flexibility from buildings remains largely untapped, particularly in emerging and developing economies. Key barriers include gaps in policy and regulation, weak metering and tariff structures, high upfront costs for energy-efficient and smart equipment, and fragmented building ownership and decision-making.   

The workshop will explore how EMDEs and early markets can unlock, monetise and scale demand-side flexibility from buildings. The discussion will focus on the enabling conditions required to transform buildings from major electricity consumers into active and flexible participants in power systems. Thematic sessions across policy and regulation, piloting and monetization, building systems and technology will explore existing barriers and effective business models to overcome them. The workshop will be interactive and feature best practices and practical lessons learned focusing on value creation and scalability. 

UNEP and IRENA are developing a global flagship publication on demand-side flexibility best practices,  “Turning Energy Demand into a Resource”. In parallel, an international technical working group on demand-side flexibility will be launched at the workshop. The inputs and outcomes of the workshop will inform working group activities, and will further be elevated and disseminated through the publication and other work products developed in partnership.