South Korea's annual electricity consumption is projected to grow by up to 26 percent over the next 15 years, reaching between 657.6 and 694.1 terawatt-hours by 2040, up from 549.8 TWh in 2024, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced Wednesday. Peak demand is similarly expected to climb from the current 100 gigawatts to as high as 138.2 GW. The projections, presented at a policy forum shaping the country's 12th basic electricity supply and demand plan for 2026–2040, are driven by two scenarios — one tracking steady economic growth alongside climate commitments, and another accounting for faster expansion fuelled by artificial intelligence adoption and accelerated progress toward carbon neutrality.