Scope of Energy Statistics

Not all energy is an object of statistical observation: energy existing in nature without a direct impact on society is not measured or monitored as part of energy statistics, though national practices differ on where that line falls [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.2, PDF p. 30, 2018]. The term “energy statistics” itself is used with varying breadth by different user communities — from a narrow reading centred on production/consumption of a few main products, to broader versions covering basic energy statistics, energy balances and energy accounts [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.2, PDF p. 30, 2018].

IRES’s own scope

The recommendations in IRES are focused on two things:

• Basic energy statistics — statistics on energy stocks and flows, energy infrastructure, the performance of energy industries, and the availability of energy resources within a country’s national territory during a reference period.
• Energy balances — an accounting framework for compiling and reconciling data on all energy products entering, exiting and used within that territory, grounded in the first law of thermodynamics [IRES, Ch. VIII, para. 8.1, PDF p. 114, 2018].

[IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.3, PDF p. 30, 2018]

IRES also briefly describes some uses of basic energy statistics and energy balances — such as compiling environmental-economic accounts, energy indicators and greenhouse gas emissions — and identifies the main conceptual differences where relevant [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.3, PDF p. 30, 2018]. Chapter VI’s reference list of data items further elaborates the scope of basic energy statistics, serving countries as a menu from which to select items relevant to their own needs, priorities and resources [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.7, PDF p. 31, 2018]. Because of interlinkages with other statistical domains (industrial and trade statistics), IRES’s concepts are, to the extent possible, harmonized with those domains, and it is recommended that energy data collection be organized in close collaboration with other national data collection activities — for example, programmes following 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 effort and ensure overall coherence of official statistics [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.7, PDF p. 31, 2018].

The energy data warehouse

IRES promotes a multipurpose approach to energy statistics, centred on the idea of an energy data warehouse as an efficient way of meeting the data needs of energy policymakers and analysts, as well as compilers of energy accounts and national accounts [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.4, PDF p. 30, 2018]. Such a warehouse may provide convenient access to data on energy stocks and flows, selected statistics on energy producers and users (e.g., energy infrastructure, employment, capital formation), selected energy market data (e.g., energy prices), and statistics on reserves of mineral and energy resources — with countries free to identify and collect additional items according to their own priorities and resources [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.4, PDF pp. 30–31, 2018]. IRES specifically acknowledges the importance of reliable data on energy prices and their movements (e.g., import/export prices, consumer prices and their indices) as vital for monitoring energy markets and developing effective energy policies [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.5, PDF p. 31, 2018].

Energy resources and reserves

Energy resources are defined as “all non-renewable energy resources of both inorganic and organic origins discovered in the earth’s crust in solid, liquid and gaseous form” [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.6, PDF p. 31, 2018, citing ECE (2004) United Nations Framework Classification for Fossil Energy and Mineral Resources, p. 1]. Energy reserves are the part of those resources that, based on technical, economic and other relevant considerations (e.g., environmental), could be recovered and for which extraction is justified to some extent; the exact definition of reserves depends on the kind of resource in focus [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.6, PDF p. 31, 2018].

Data on energy resources and reserves are generally collected by specialized governmental agencies (e.g., geological institutes) responsible for monitoring resource depletion. It is recommended that such data nonetheless be obtained and included in the energy data warehouse [IRES, Ch. II, para. 2.6, PDF p. 31, 2018] — see the recommendations tracker, row II/2.6.

Related

• Energy Products — the products whose stocks/flows the scope covers, and how the product boundary is delineated
• Stock Changes — the definition of “stocks” and “stock changes” this page’s “basic energy statistics” scope invokes
• Energy Industries — the industry taxonomy behind the “performance of energy industries” scope item above
• Reference Territory — the geographic scope within which basic energy statistics and energy balances are compiled
• Recommendations and Encouragements — the recommended/encouraged grading applied to the provisions above
• International Recommendations for Energy Statistics — the standard that defines this scope
• Energy Balance — the full treatment of the “energy balances” scope item above (purpose, principles, structure)