The use of client files of energy companies

Hans PouwelseStatistics Netherlands

jpwe@cbs.nl

October 24, 2012

Statistical method for monitoring energy consumption in service sectors and households

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Content

• background• use of client files as alternative• steps forward• results • concluding remarks

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BackgroundSituation energy statistics in the Netherlands in 2005

Positive: energy production sector and manufacturing industries (‘the heavy users’)

• solid production process, based on surveys, high response rates, intensive contact with key companies

• statistical results of good quality and timeliness

• results basis for energy balance sheets

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BackgroundSituation energy statistics in the Netherlands in 2005

Negative: Other sectors (households, service sectors, etc. )

• response rates, quality response and statistical results poor and decreasing

• irregular statistical coverage, only once every 3 to 5 years

• poor quality external information (households, agriculture)

• lack of finance and staff capacity to improve the shortcomings with traditional questionnaires

But:• increasing demand

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Promising alternative ask energy companies for their files with individual client information

The idea is simple:

Energy companies have all the necessary information they need to send bills to their individual clients, including the supplied amounts of energy- 8 mln electricity connections- 7 mln gas connections

Collecting this individual client information is much more efficient and less costly than asking many individual consumers

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Advantages Only a limited number of respondents have to be bothered

(general policy in the Netherlands to minimize the response burden)

Less costly and more efficient

Increasing quality statistical results (An important source of errors can be avoided: energy consumers no longer have to identify their electricity and gas consumption on annual basis from the information they receive from their energy supplier)

Data on energy consumption can be published for each economic activity (NACE-code) and households annually

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Steps forward (1)

Legal obligation

Energy companies will not cooperate on a voluntary basis

Legal obligation is necessary

Realised in 2004 as modification of the Dutch statistical law

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Steps forward (2)which companies: energy suppliers or network operators?

Energy suppliers: - more information (quantities, prices, costs, taxes)- more and varying number of companies- varying number of clients/connections per company (switching allowed)

Network operators: - only quantities electricity and natural gas- only few and stable number of companies (14, all both electricity and gas)- stable number of clients/connections

Choice: Network operators

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Steps forward (3)Identify type of client: house hold or business? and type of business (NACE code)?

Records contain address data

Linking to other data:- home register (7 mln dwellings)- general business register (1 mln records)- other administrative data(register real estate appraisal, Dutch land use register, GIS-techniques and others)

Amount of energy

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Steps forward (3)Many problems had to be solved:

house number extension (standardisation)

district heating, central heating bloc of flats

combined dwellings/business (one connection)

multiple connections per company (establishments)

multiple companies per connection (office building hired by several companies, one connection)

And many others!

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Results Households

• Regular statistics production electricity and gas consumption since 2008 (information from statistical period 2004)

• Broken down by region (municipal level)

• Broken down by housing types and household characteristics (by matching with microdata home characteristics and household characteristics)

• Microdata available for external researchers

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Gas consumptiondetached homes2010

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Electricity consumptiondetached homes2010

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Natural Gas consumption

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Bouwperiode 1960-1980

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Results Service sectors

• First results published in May this year (statistical period 2010); 2011 by the end of this year

• Separate table, integration into Dutch Energy Balance follows as soon as possible

• Break down by region as far as possible (confidentiality)

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natural gas electricity

Sector/branche (SIC 2008) mln m3 mln kWh

(F Construction) 199 1 027

G Wholesale and retail trade 1 129 9 139

H Transportation and storage 314 4 816

I Accommodation and food serving 560 2 873

J Information and communication 134 2 526

K Financial institutions 240 2 005

L Renting, buying, selling real estate 324 1 801

M Other specialised business services 277 1 439

N Renting and other business support 120 808

O Public administration and services 565 3 889

P Education 487 1 707

Q Health and social work activities 805 2 727

R Culture, sports and recreation 312 1 529

S Other service activities 281 731

U Extraterritorial organisations 6 20

© Statistics Netherlands, Den Haag/Heerlen 30-8-2012

Natural gas and electricity supplies to service sectors 2010

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Electricity consumption in the services sectors (%)

Wholesale and retail trade

Transportation and storage

Public administration and defense

Accommodation and food service activities

Human health and social work activities

Information and communication

Financial and insurance activities

Real estate activities

Other service activities

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Gas consumption in the services sectors (%)

Wholesale and retail trade

Human health and social work activities

Public administration and defense

Accommodation and food service activities

Education

Real estate activities

Transportation and storage

Arts and recreation

Other service activities

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Concluding remarks

• Client files of energy companies have proven to be a very good source for making energy statistics!

• Generally usable for all economic sectors with only consumtion of electricity and natural gas and no own energy production

• Cheaper, more efficient, good quality, with little administrative burden compared to traditional surveys