Quality
Quality reporting on energy quantities
EU regulation 1099/2008 on energy statistics requests the provision of quality reports in accordance with Article 6 Paragraph 4: ‘Every five years, Member States provide the Commission (Eurostat) with a report on the quality of the data transmitted as well as on methodological changes that have been made.’
Ongoing round of quality reporting
In 2022, countries provided their quality reports for the third round of quality reporting on energy quantities. The European quality report is expected to be published in the first quarter of 2023. For further details, please consult the reporting instructions.
Results of the second round of quality reporting
The results of the latest quality reporting cycle are presented in the quality report of EU energy statistics, 2017. This report was compiled using the quality reporting template for the 2015 cycle. A link to information on quality for countries is available in the metadata Energy statistics – quantities.
Previous rounds
The first quality reporting exercise was conducted between 2010 and 2013. Its objective was to obtain general information and an initial overview on how statistics are collected and compiled by EU Member States. Eurostat prepared a template to gather this information.
The reports and accompanying documents of previous rounds are available below:
Quality reports – Prices
A summary of the outcome of the first exercise on quality reporting for natural gas and electricity in the EU is available in the quality report for the semesters in 2019 to 2021.
Revision policy
The revision policy for energy statistics represents an important step towards the harmonisation of revision practices within the European Statistical System (ESS). A common revision policy for energy statistics will improve the quality and comparability of national data as well as enhance the overall quality of European Union aggregates. The revision policy and the pre-announcement form were approved during the meeting of the Energy statistics working group in October 2015.
Data validation
The validation manual is an essential input for high quality of energy statistics. As validation of energy statistics is a very complex exercise, it is not possible to describe all rules in terms of exact mathematical formulas. The document lists only the validation rules on which there is no methodological or conceptual disagreement.
Task forces on the future of energy statistics
Statisticians are constantly working to meet the growing demand for energy data. Eurostat regularly organises task forces to prioritise new data needs, so that official statistics stay relevant and aligned to the needs of policymakers and society. The conclusions of these tasks force can be found in the following summary reports:
- Methodology and future reporting (2020-2021), ongoing expected in 2023
- Future of energy statistics (2013-2014)
- Future of energy statistics (1999-2000)