London (Platts)--5Jul2011/1050 am EDT/1450 GMT

Global electricity shortfalls are "likely to continue" because of the difficulty in raising the estimated $16.6 trillion of investment needed to meet a 2% annual growth in global electricity demand over the next 25 years, the International Energy Agency said in a report Tuesday.

To try to prevent the shortfalls, governments and energy utilities should develop "emergency demand-side energy-saving programs as insurance against delays and disruptions in supply," IEA executive director Nobuo Tanaka said.

The report also highlighted the strategic importance of energy efficiency for governments in the future.

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"It is crucial for governments and utilities to plan measures that encourage swift electricity savings because prolonged shortfalls may reduce economic competitiveness by creating uncertainty in supply and increasing costs of electricity," it said.

Apart from simply identifying opportunities for increasing energy efficiency, the IEA says that governments should identify specific energy-saving tools, including rationing, pricing, information campaigns and technology replacement.

The 2011 report draws on examples from countries where electricity shortfalls have occurred since 2005 when the previous report was published.

--Rachel Morison, rachel_morison@platts.com