1994 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS)

User Needs Meeting with International Statistics (IS) Branch
Hosted by Energy End Use & Integrated Statistics Division (EEUISD)

May 24, 1994

Attendees

IS Branch Lou DeMouy
Vicky McLaine

EEUISD: Transportation & Industrial Branch John Preston
Bob Adler
Mark Schipper
Cindy Magee
Mike Margreta

Due to the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT), the Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) has become a biennial collection, instead of triennial, starting with the 1994 collection. In addition, it is expected that the sample size will be expanded to accommodate data reporting on the basis of census division.

IS serves two primary customers: the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), field offices in Singapore and Tokyo. Energy data are needed for the three general areas of what IS terms "the energy balance:"

1. national supply of energy, including imports and exports
2. transformation of energy supply into other energy products (for example, coal transformed into coke)
3. "final" consumption of energy (final in the sense of which type of sector, such as household or industrial, consumes the energy).

Those types of information are regularly requested for the U.S. in categories that the MECS does not collect and at a frequency rate that the MECS cannot accommodate. Hence, IS does not really use much MECS data.

However, IS has annually requested MECS data for total fuel inputs. For the years when the MECS collected data, EEUISD had been providing MECS data at the U.S. national level for two-digit International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) Codes. In addition, for the 1991 MECS publication, Mr. Schipper plans to include an appendix that tabulates energy data by ISIC categories. IS was pleased to learn of this effort.

Although the MECS can provide ISIC equivalents, two problems have arisen. First, data are not available at ISIC levels below two digits, nor are data available for the interim years when the MECS is not conducted. Second, the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) is considering a revision of the present U.S. SIC system, which could upset the MECS' ability to provide ISIC equivalents.

In his efforts to link U.S. SICs with ISICs for MECS data, Mr. Schipper noted that although an ISIC estimate can be produced, it's not necessarily a reliable estimate, or at least as reliable as standard MECS estimates (within plus or minus 5% of the true value). IS suggested that the degree of reliability should also be published with the ISIC estimate, thereby allowing the peruser to decide if the ISIC estimate is suitable for his purposes.

IS would like to see EIA surveys evolve towards data collection within the "energy balance" framework. Right now, some surveys overlap one another, and there is no coordinated attempt to reconcile conflicting numbers from different surveys that collect similar information. For example, the annual EIA-3 Survey collects energy consumption that includes utilities, which are outside the scope of the MECS collection. Yet, numbers from those two surveys are often compared.

Mr. Preston pointed out that, for the 1991 MECS publication, he plans to include an appendix that will reconcile MECS estimates with those of EIA's Integrated Statistics Branch, and IS expressed appreciation for this effort.

In conclusion, the 1994 MECS collection will not change specifically to meet IS needs, but efforts will continue to produce ISIC estimates and to provide reconciliation explanations for comparable estimates in other EIA surveys.

Contact:

robert.adler@eia.doe.gov

Robert Adler

Project Manager

Phone: (202) 586-1134

Fax: (202) 586-0018