New electrification index shows China out front as US risks stalling and Europe's policies outpace delivery
LONDON, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- China is pulling ahead on electrification, while the US risks losing momentum and some of Europe's biggest economies have yet to translate policy into delivery, according to new analysis.
The Electrification Competitiveness Index assesses progress in 16 countries, measuring electrification delivery on the ground and the conditions needed for further progress. These enabling and deployment factors indicate how ready economies are for businesses to electrify operations.
The analysis exposes a widespread implementation gap, with policy and other enabling conditions ahead of electrification deployment across most countries.
The Index, developed by We Mean Business Coalition with support from RMI, assesses Australia, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, UK and US.
Electrification, combined with clean power, can reduce fossil fuel reliance, strengthen energy security, reduce exposure to volatile fuel prices, support growth and productivity, cut emissions and improve health through cleaner air. It will be a key focus at COP31.
Countries are grouped in four categories:
- Solid foundation - China, France, Spain: relatively strong deployment and strong enablers. China has the highest deployment score, backed by coordinated grid investment, industrial policy and incentives. France and Spain score well on grid performance and clean power shares. In all three countries, electricity prices are more competitive against gas than in most other economies assessed.
- Potential for take-off - Germany, India, Italy, Poland, UK: enablers higher than deployment. The UK has the largest gap between policy and delivery. Electricity costs around five times as much as gas per unit of energy for UK industry, while Germany faces a grid connection backlog of hundreds of gigawatts.
- Risk of stalling - US, Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, South Korea: deployment sits at/above the halfway mark with enablers below the median. In the US federal policy reversals and grid bottlenecks risk slowing momentum. The US has more than 2TW of generation and storage waiting in interconnection queues, compared with roughly 1.3TW of existing generating capacity.
- Early-stage adoption - Indonesia, the Philippines and South Africa: below the halfway marks on deployment and enablers. Clean power accounts for 18% of generation in Indonesia and South Africa and 23% in the Philippines, while grid investment in all three is below 0.4% of GDP, against 0.65% average across the sample.
Report & full release: https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/new-index-maps-electrification-competitiveness-of-countries/
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