A better measurement for the 
consumption of energy by the households and by the businesses
On 6-8 November 2018, MEDSTAT IV organized a Regional Workshop on Final Energy Consumption surveys in the Industry and Household sectors. The event took place in Valencia (Spain) and gathered experts from the statistical offices and from the Ministries of Energy of the ENP-S countries. During three days, they discussed the improvement of the assessment of Energy consumption in the Industry and Household sectors across the Mediterranean region.
The Industry and Household sectors are two of the major final consumers of energy across the Mediterranean region and a better measurement of their consumption, by energy product and end-use, is key to a better understanding of the actual challenges faced by the countries in this area. It is also a necessary step to be taken in order to designing appropriate strategies for the improvement of energy efficiency and for the reduction of energy consumption and energy dependence at the national level.
The measurement of Energy consumption in the Industry and Household sectors raises numerous and delicate issues. Different statistical tools, including surveys and administrative data, as well as combinations of tools must be used in order to improve the quality of the statistics in this area. The accuracy and the reliability of the statistics produced requires to be enhanced and the burden on the survey respondents should be diminished. Surveys on final energy consumption are costly and complex and a common investment should be done in order to reduce costs while increasing quality. This is a crucial challenge for the regional statistical production process.
During the workshop, national experiences were shared between partner countries and the discussions were enlightened by presentations by a EU Member State, Eurostat and the IEA, the two last institutions focusing their presentations on international recommendations and best practices in this area.
Collective lessons were drawn and areas of convergence were identified among the ENP-S countries that could lead to fostering regional harmonization in the development of final energy consumption surveys in the Industry and Household sectors. The participants also agreed on the key elements of a possible regional roadmap for the development of final energy consumption statistics that could be developed and implemented under the future activities of the EU-MED cooperation in statistics.
For more information: MEDSTAT4@expertsefrance.fr
