=== ires-2018-page-030.pdf === 17 Chapter II Scope of energy statistics A. Energy and energy statistics 2.1. Energy and its forms. Energy, as generally understood in physics, is the capacity of a physical system to do work. Energy exists in different forms, such as light, heat and motion, but they can all be put into two categories: potential energy (e.g., the energy “stored” in mat- ter) and kinetic energy (the energy of motion). Examples of potential energy are chemical energy (energy stored in the bonds of atoms and molecules), water stored in a reservoir at a height (the potential energy stored is released when the water is allowed to fall/flow through a turbine) and nuclear energy (energy stored in the nucleus of an atom). Examples of kinetic energy are wind and falling water. When wind is blowing, it contains kinetic energy. Simi- larly, when the potential energy of a reservoir of water is released it becomes kinetic energy, which is then captured in a turbine. 2.2. Energy in the statistical context. Not all energy is an object of statistical observa- tion. Energy existing in nature and not having a direct impact on society is not measured and monitored as part of energy statistics; however, national practices in this respect might differ. In order to assist countries in making their energy statistics more policy relevant and internationally comparable, this chapter provides recommendations on the scope of energy statistics by describing which kinds of energy are to be statistically observed and discusses related concepts and boundary issues. In this connection, it should be noted that the term “energy statistics” is widely used, not only by energy statisticians, but also by compilers of other statistics, policy makers and research institutions. Its meaning, as understood by differ- ent groups, varies from a rather narrow interpretation focusing on production and consump- tion of a few main energy products to broader versions covering basic energy statistics, energy balances and energy accounts. 2.3. Scope of energy statistics in IRES. The recommendations contained in this pub- lication are focused on basic energy statistics and energy balances. The basic energy statis- tics refer to statistics on energy stocks and flows, energy infrastructure, performance of the energy industries, and the availability of energy resources within the national territory of a given country during a reference period. Energy balances are an accounting framework for the compilation and reconciliation of data on all energy products entering, exiting and used within that territory. IRES provides a brief description of some of the uses of the basic energy statistics and energy balances, such as the compilation of environmental-economic accounts, energy indicators and greenhouse gas emissions, and identifies, wherever necessary, the main conceptual differences. 2.4. IRES promotes a multipurpose approach to energy statistics, in particular by empha- sizing the idea of an energy data warehouse as an efficient way of meeting the data needs of energy policy makers and energy analysts, as well as of compilers of energy accounts and national accounts. Such an energy data warehouse may provide convenient access to data on energy stocks and flows, as well as to selected statistics on energy producers and users (e.g., on energy infrastructure, employment and capital formation), selected data about the energy  === ires-2018-page-031.pdf === 18 International Recommendations for Energy Statistics (IRES) market (e.g., energy prices), statistics on reserves of mineral and energy resources, etc. It is recognized that additional data might be needed to respond to specific policy concerns and/or analytical questions. Countries may wish to identify such items and collect them according to their priorities and available resources. 2.5. Energy prices. IRES acknowledges the importance of the availability of reliable data on energy prices and their movements (e.g., import and export prices of energy products, consumer prices and their respective indices, etc.), as they are vital for monitoring energy markets and developing effective energy policies. 2.6. Mineral and energy resources. Energy resources refer to “all non-renewable energy resources of both inorganic and organic origins discovered in the earth’s crust in solid, liq- 14 ECE (2004) United Nations uid and gaseous form.”14 Energy reserves are part of the resources that, based on technical, Framework Classification for Fossil economic and other relevant (e.g., environmental) considerations, could be recovered and Energy and Mineral Resources, for which extraction is justified to some extent. The exact definition of reserves depends on pg. 1, available from www.unece .org/fileadmin/DAM/energy/se the kind of resources in focus. Even though data on energy resources and reserves are gen- /pdfs/UNFC/UNFCemr.pdf. erally collected by specialized governmental agencies (e.g., geological institutes), which are assigned the responsibility of monitoring the depletion of energy resources, such data should be obtained and included in the energy data warehouse. 2.7. Further elaboration of the scope of basic energy statistics is provided in the reference list of data items presented in chapter VI. It contains all items desirable for the compilation and dissemination of such statistics and serves as a reference list for countries to select the relevant data items for national compilation, taking into account their needs, priorities and resources. Given the interlinkages with other statistical domains (such as industrial and trade statistics), the concepts presented in IRES are, to the extent possible, harmonized with those of other statistical domains. It should be emphasized that the actual energy data collection should be organized in close collaboration with other data collection activities carried out in a given country (e.g., with programmes of enterprise or establishment censuses and surveys based on the relevant recommendations adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commis- sion, such as the International Recommendations for Industrial Statistics 2008 (UN 2009b), the International Recommendations for Distributive Trade Statistics 2008 (UN 2009a), or the International Merchandise Trade Statistics, Rev. 2 (UN 1998)), to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure overall coherence of official statistics. B. Basic concepts and boundary issues: an overview 2.8. Energy statistics is a specialized statistical domain with a long history of usage of specific concepts and related terminology firmly incorporated in data compilation and dis- semination and widely accepted by the main users of energy statistics. In some cases, the terms used in energy statistics have different meaning in other statistical areas, such as in national accounts (see para. 5.16 for the example of “stocks”). In all cases in which such a situation exists, the differences in the term’s meaning will be acknowledged and explained. 2.9. Energy products. The term products is understood in the same way as in economic 15 See SNA 2008, para. 6.24 for a statistics where it refers to all goods and services that are the result of production.15 Energy general definition of production products are a subset of products. As a general guideline, it is recommended that energy and para. 5.10 of this publica- products refer to products exclusively or mainly used as a source of energy. They include tion for a definition of energy production. forms of energy suitable for direct use (e.g., electricity and heat) and energy products that release energy while undergoing some chemical or other process (including combustion). By convention, energy products also include peat, biomass and waste when and only when they are used for energy purposes (see chapter III for details and classification of energy products).  === ires-2018-page-032.pdf === Scope of energy statistics 19 2.10. Since a number of energy products are transformed into other kinds of energy prod- ucts prior to their consumption, a distinction is made between primary and secondary energy products. This distinction is necessary for various analytical purposes, including for avoid- ing the double-counting of energy production in cross-fuel tabulations, such as energy bal- ances. Energy products can be obtained from both renewable (e.g., solar, biomass, etc.) and non-renewable sources (e.g., coal, crude oil, etc.). It is important for both energy planning and environmental concerns to distinguish between renewable and non-renewable energy products, as well as to distinguish “infinite” renewable sources such as solar from cyclical renewable sources such as biomass. For definitions and additional information on primary, secondary, renewable and non-renewable energy products, see chapter V and annex A. 2.11. Boundary of energy products. The description of the boundary of the universe of energy products is not always straightforward. For example, corncobs can be: (1) combusted directly to produce heat; (2) used in the production of ethanol as a biofuel, (3) consumed as food, or (4) thrown away as waste. To assist countries in the delineation of energy products, IRES presents the SIEC, as well as the definitions of such products (see chapter III). Accord- ing to the scope of SIEC, corncobs, as such, are considered energy products for the purpose of energy statistics only in case (1) above, that is when they are combusted directly to produce heat (c.f. paragraph 3.10). In all other cases, they either do not fall within the boundary of energy statistics (when used as a source of food), or they enter the boundary of energy statistics as a different product (e.g. ethanol). 2.12. Energy flows. In general, energy flows describe the various activities of economic actors undertaken on the national territory of a compiling country, such as production of energy products, their import, export and use. It is crucial that official energy statistics estab- lish a broad understanding of the totality of energy flows and their impact on society and the environment. Chapter V of IRES presents energy flows in more detail. 2.13. Production boundary. As a general guideline, the energy production boundary includes the production of energy products by any economic unit, including households, whether or not the production is: (i) their principal, secondary or ancillary activity; and/or (ii) carried out for sale or delivery to other economic units or for own use. The definition of energy production and related concepts is provided in chapter V. 2.14. Reference territory. In general, the term “reference territory” defines the geographical scope of the statistics compiled and the criteria for allocating selected statistics to a particular territory. Energy statistics have historically responded, among others, to the policy concerns of the physical availability of energy and its uses within the territory of a country. Thus, the criteria for allocating certain statistics to the country follow the physical location of the units involved. The reference territory used in energy statistics and energy balances is the national territory and is defined as the geographic territory under the effective economic control of the national government. It comprises: (a) The land area; (b) Airspace; (c) Territorial waters, including areas over which jurisdiction is exercised through fishing rights and rights to fuels or minerals. 2.15. In a maritime territory, the economic territory includes islands that belong to the territory. The national territory also includes any free trade zones, bonded warehouses or factories operated by enterprises under customs control within the areas described above. By convention, the territorial enclaves of other countries (e.g., embassies, consulates, military 16 The latter differs from the treat- bases, scientific stations, etc.) are treated as part of the national territory where they are ment in national accounts (see physically located.16 SNA 2008, para. 4.11).  === ires-2018-page-033.pdf === 20 International Recommendations for Energy Statistics (IRES) 2.16. The definition of reference territory recommended for energy statistics largely approxi- mates the economic territory of a country as used in economic statistics (see Balance of Pay- ments and International Investment Position Manual, para. 4.5 and SNA 2008, para. 4.11). However, it should be noted that the concept of economic territory in economic statistics (including in energy accounts) is used in conjunction with the concept of the residence of the economic unit, which is the determining factor in the allocation of the statistics to the economic territory. 2.17. Energy industries. Many countries publish indicators describing the activity of their energy industries. However, individual country practices in defining the boundary of the energy industries and the set of main indicators used to describe their activities may differ significantly. For example, units considered to be part of energy industries may engage in activities that are not related to energy. Even though these activities are not the main focus of energy statistics, they are addressed by some of the data items described in chapter VI. To improve international comparability of energy statistics, specific recommendations on the definition of energy industries are provided in chapter V. 2.18. Energy production outside the energy industries. It should be stressed that energy can be produced not only by energy industries but also by enterprises or establishments engaged in energy production as a secondary or ancillary activity. For example, aluminium producers may have their own power plant producing electricity primarily for internal con- sumption. A sugar cane processing plant may use the remains after juice extraction from the sugar cane (bagasse) as a fuel for heating. Similarly, waste materials (e.g., tires) can be inciner- ated with heat recovery at installations designed for the disposal of mixed wastes or co-fired with other fuels. In order to have a complete picture of the supply and demand of energy in a country, it is important that data on the production of energy outside the energy industries are also collected and included in total energy production. 2.19. Energy uses and energy consumers. Energy products can be used for various pur- poses (e.g., as an input in the production of secondary energy products or for final consump- tion) and by different user groups (e.g., various industries and households). The statistics on energy consumption are of great importance for setting energy policy and for assessing the efficiency of energy use, its environmental impact and others. The different types of energy consumers may be grouped into various categories as necessary for analytical purposes. Uses of energy products and user groups are further described in chapter V.