According to the report, the world will need to invest between $140.2bn to $170.5bn a year on traditional transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure to meet electricity demand.
A further $8.0bn to $27.3bn will be invested in smart grid infrastructure to improve the efficiency and reliability of T&D grids.
Distribution automation investment is expected to account for 5.4% of total T&D spending in 2014.
India will beat China to become the largest amount of traditional T&D investment country by 2024.
Smart grid annual spending on distribution automation will be concentrated in Europe, followed by North America and East Asia.
Northeast Group president Ben Gardner said: "The significant need for new power generation capacity makes the headlines on a daily basis.
"But what is seldom discussed is the equally important need for new T&D infrastructure, which needs an enormous $1.9 trillion in cumulative investment by 2024.
"This includes substations, power lines and associated equipment and new technology. T&D investment typically represents approximately 40% of total power infrastructure spending."
