Designing an Energy Statistics Roadmap

By providing insights into how energy is produced, transformed and used, energy statistics and balances constitute the basic description of the energy system in a country. They are a cornerstone for tracking clean energy transitions and are also essential for monitoring the broader impacts of energy use – including the implications for energy security. They are also critical for measuring progress toward key targets, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7: ensuring access to clean and affordable energy.

This guidebook offers a comprehensive framework for national institutions to assess existing national energy information systems and plan their development (“roadmap”). The framework is structured around three key pillars – PLAN, SETUP, and TRACK – which are in turn broken down into a total of nine steps. Based on broad consultations with national data providers, the guidebook also identifies best practices, distinguishing between the “low-hanging fruit” – practices that are relatively quick to adopt at little or no cost – and “medium-term goals” that require more planning.

The IEA guidebook is released along with an accompanying Microsoft Excel-based tool, which serves not only to assess the national energy system but also as a comprehensive resource for strategic action planning. It enables countries to understand the status of their national energy system and develop a tailored action plan based on identified priority areas.

Through this guidebook, the International Energy Agency (IEA) aims at assisting countries in the continued development of their national energy information systems, regardless of their maturity level. The framework is expected to be used as a tool to facilitate the development of strategic action plans and resource allocation to strengthen national energy data capacities – key elements of effective energy transition policies.

For any inquires or remarks, please contact DataCapacities@iea.org