Indigenous production, transformation and consumption of energy

What does the survey comprise?

Purpose

Providing monthly and quarterly figures regarding the indigenous production, transformation and consumption of energy commodities natural gas, electricity, hard coal, residual gases and renewable energy in the Netherlands.

Target population

Companies based in the Netherlands that extract and/or produce energy except for companies processing crude oil.

Statistical unit

Statistics Netherlands has a general business register (ABR) describing the Dutch business population as statistical units. The statistical units Enterprise, Enterprise Group and Local Unit are derived from this register. The register forms the basis for the definition of the population and the sampling of many business statistics, including the natural gas, coal and electricity statistics.

Date/year survey started

Figures on the indigenous production of hard coal are available from 1802 onwards. Figures on natural gas and electricity are available from 1946 onwards.

Frequency

The major companies and consumers that extract and/or produce energy are surveyed every month and the others every quarter.

Publication strategy

Within one month the flash key figures on the supply of natural gas and electricity are published according to international agreements. The provisional figures on the supply and consumption of natural gas, electricity and hard coal are published on StatLine in the third month after the month under review. Each quarter a key energy balance sheet of the Netherlands is published. A complete version of the energy balance is published annually. All figures for a certain year become definite not later than in the following December.

How is the survey conducted

Survey type

Informants are the energy companies and energy consumers in all sample sizes 0 to 9. Included in the select sample are only informants that mainly extract and/or produce energy.

Survey method

The survey is conducted through questionnaires that can be completed online. Also figures from existing registrations are used.

Respondents

In the Netherlands based energy companies and energy consumers that extract and/or produce energy.

Sample size

The sample consists of about 300 companies.

Checking and correction methods

- The energy balance must be balanced. The supply side of the balance consists of the total available energy by energy commodity, i.e. the sum of indigenous production, imports and exports, stock changes and own production. From January 2006 the production of natural gas from other sources have been added to the natural gas balance sheet. Production is distinguished into production of electricity, heat, renewable energy, nuclear energy and waste and other energy commodities. The consumption side of the balance consists of consumption by the energy sector and total consumption by deliveries. Consumption is broken down by energy transformation into other energy commodities and final consumption.
- The opening stock of the current period must be equal to the closing stock of the last period.
- Individual and aggregated figures get a plausibility check. This is done by comparing the previous period with the corresponding periods of previous years.

Weighting

The energy commodities electricity and heat are increased on the basis of the electrical capacity installed in the Netherlands. The energy commodities natural gas and hard coal are not increased.

Quality of the results
Accuracy

Natural gas is reported into million cubic metres (m3), coles into million kilos (kg) and electricity into million kilowatt-hours (kWh).
Sequential comparability
With the publication of the figures the change in the classification of the different sectors, respectively SIC93 and SIC2008, are taken into account.

Quality strategy

- All completed forms are checked. Any questions are discussed with the respondent.
- Where possible, results are compared with other figures of Statistics Netherlands, e.g. the international trade statistics.
- Statistics Netherlands follows the international energy statistics quality guidelines (see the Energy Statistics Manual by International Energy Agency (IEA) and Eurostat).