Asia-Pacific’s energy security: The engineering is ready; the regulatory infrastructure must follow
Pressure on the region’s grids, governance gaps slowing interconnection, and investor concerns are not separate problems
FOR decades, the energy model that powered Asia’s rise was built on a simple logic: Access equals security. Access to globally traded fuels, competitive pricing, deep supply chains. It worked. It drove industrialisation across South-east Asia.
That logic is now being challenged. The world it was designed for has fundamentally changed.
The stress showing up across the Asia-Pacific today is a convergence, several forces arriving at once. Global electricity demand grew 4.4 per cent in 2024 and 3 per cent in 2025, and is forecast to rise a further 3.6 per cent annually through 2030.