Increasing efficiency in the use of energy in electricity production, associated in large
part with improvements in gas technologies (particularly combined-cycle gas turbines,
where efficiencies could rise from the current state-of-the art 55% to 62% over the
coming decades), and anticipated improvements in the efficiency of coal-fired power
plants, up from the present 34% to more than 50% in the medium-to-long term (IPCC
1996)), the increasing importance of CHP technologies, and improved process control
through the use of advanced sensors and electronics in energy production, will be an
important energy-saver, along with further improvements in the efficiency of
electricity transmission (innovation in power electronics) leading to fewer energy
losses.