Electricity System Transformation Vital to Meet Future Needs, Arthur D. Little Blue Shift Report Finds
Arthur D. Little (ADL)’s Blue Shift Institute today published The Future of Electricity - From Building Capacity to Shaping Flexibility. The in-depth new report explores the growing pressures on electricity systems worldwide, and how they must transform to meet radically changing needs. With demand predicted to rise by 40-55% by 2035, it identifies practical strategies for maintaining reliability, affordability, and resilience.
Electricity systems face profound challenges due to the accelerating electrification of end uses, increasing renewables deployments, and the digitalization of economies. Rising variability and system stress is already leading to instability, grid congestion, and disruption. Demonstrating this, an April 2025 blackout across the Iberian Peninsula led to at least eight deaths and an estimated US $1.8 billion in economic losses.
Based on in-depth research and expert interviews, the report outlines the need to reshape infrastructure and operations to move from supply-follows-demand dynamics towards a flexible buffer model. Further investment is critical, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimating that US $3-4 trillion is required by 2030 in grid investment alone to keep pace with electrification. The study also looks beyond 2035 to explore the technological, institutional, market and regulatory solutions needed to meet longer term needs.
