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Energy use in manufacturing: documentation of statistics

2.11.2024 valid documentation

Basic data of the statistics

Data description

The statistics on energy use in manufacturing describe the use of energy in manufacturing by energy source, industry and region.

Statistical population

The population for energy use in manufacturing is formed by establishments in industries B (mining and quarrying) and C (manufacturing).

Statistical unit

The statistical unit is an establishment.

Unit of measure

The data are published in joules (terajoule TJ, petajoule PJ) and watt-hours (gigawatt hour GWh). Data are also produced for international reporting from the data of the statistics, in which case the reporting unit is often physical units, such as thousands of tonnes.

Reference period

The reference period of the statistics is one year.

Reference area

The data cover regionally the whole of Finland. The data are produced on the level of regions (NUTS3).

Sector coverage

The statistics on energy use in manufacturing cover energy consumption of establishments in industries B and C.

Time coverage

Data on energy use in manufacturing are available from 2007 onwards. The data may be revised in connection with a new release for the whole length of the time series.

Frequency of dissemination

The data are published annually. In connection with the release, data for earlier years may also be updated.

Accuracy, reliability and timeliness

Overall accuracy

The reliability of the statistics is affected by non-response and the overestimation or underestimation of energy use in manufacturing which may follow from it. In addition, the inquiry on which the statistics are based assumes that all establishments using rarely used fuels are included. If this is not the case, the statistics underestimate the used amounts of these fuels. Possible sources of error are errors detected in data checking in data suppliers' answers and problems related to the balance limits of institutional areas consisting of several establishments.

Due to the very small sample of the establishments which employ under ten persons, detailed tables may contain inconsistencies associated with a sample survey. For this reason some table cells may receive the value 0 due to the sample survey. This means that no establishment has become selected into the sample, even though in reality some energy use may occur in the cells concerned.

Structural changes related to the ownership of establishments also have an effect on changes in energy use in manufacturing. If, for example, a power plant is operating in connection with an industrial establishment, its data are included depending on whether the plant is owned by the same operator as the industrial plant or whether it is owned by outsiders. If an externally owned plant is transferred to the ownership of an industrial plant, the fuels used by the power plant are included in the energy consumption of manufacturing instead of the earlier energy sector.

Regional data by energy source involve so much randomness and uncertainty that starting from the 2013 data, regional data are only published on total energy consumption and total electricity consumption.

Timeliness

The statistics are published approximately 11 months after the end of the statistical year.

Punctuality

There is no delay in releasing data on energy use in manufacturing. The data are published on the days indicated in the release calendar.

Comparability

Comparability - geographical

In international reporting, the uses of fuels are divided based on whether they are used by manufacturing or the transformation sector. In the national statistics on energy use in manufacturing the division principle is the industry of the establishment, so the figures of the national statistics cannot be compared direct with the Finnish figures reported by Eurostat, for example.

Comparability - over time

The time series of energy use in manufacturing are comparable from 2007 onwards. The data are published annually. In connection with the release, data for earlier years may also be updated.

Coherence - cross domain

The figures of the statistics differ somewhat from the figures for manufacturing reported in other energy statistics. Some of the figures of the statistics are benchmarked to those of other statistics, some are based on data collected with a sample survey, whereby differences arise both from divergent source data and from different calculation methods.

Coherence - internal

The figures on energy use in manufacturing are internally coherent.

Source data and data collections

Source data

The statistics have their own data collection, comprising three sample groups: large, medium-sized and small operators. Large operators, or significant energy users, include the establishments of enterprises employing more than 1,000 persons, establishments belonging to the main grid industry, those included in emissions trading, enterprises with environmental permits and those using a rare fuel. They are selected for the data collection with the probability of one. Random sampling is carried out on medium-sized enterprises or those with more than ten employees, which are not included in the large stratum. A periodical sample is made of small enterprises, that is, enterprises with fewer than ten employees, in the intermediate years the data on these enterprises' establishments are imputed with the last observation carried forward (LOCF) method. The statistics also utilise administrative registers: data on emissions trading and data from the permit register of the environmental administration. In addition, data on energy efficiency agreements collected by Motiva are also available.

Data collection

The data are mainly collected with a web questionnaire, but some multi-establishment enterprises respond in a centralised manner concerning the data on all their establishments using an Excel form. Register data collected by other authorities come to Statistics Finland according to an agreed schedule.

Frequency of data collection

The data are collected annually.

Methods

Data compilation

Errors detected in the data are corrected manually, missing data of the most significant respondents are imputed and the response data of the random sample are raised to the whole population level with inflating coefficients according to the sample design.

Data validation

Comparisons with other data, earlier periods and other observations in the data are used in the validation of the data. The data of the most important respondents are examined in detail.

Principles and outlines

Contact organisation

Statistics Finland<o:p></o:p>

Contact organisation unit

Economic and Environmental Statistics

Legal acts and other agreements

The compilation of statistics is guided by the Statistics Act. The Statistics Act contains provisions on collection of data, processing of data and the obligation to provide data. Besides the Statistics Act, the Data Protection Act and the Act on the Openness of Government Activities are applied to processing of data when producing statistics. 

Statistics Finland compiles statistics in line with the EU’s regulations applicable to statistics, which steer the statistical agencies of all EU Member States.  

Further information: Statistical legislation 

Confidentiality - policy

The data protection of data collected for statistical purposes is guaranteed in accordance with the requirements of the Statistics Act (280/2004), the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act (1050/2018). The data materials are protected at all stages of processing with the necessary physical and technical solutions. Statistics Finland has compiled detailed directions and instructions for confidential processing of the data. Employees have access only to the data essential for their duties. The premises where unit-level data are processed are not accessible to outsiders. Members of the personnel have signed a pledge of secrecy upon entering the service. Violation of data protection is punishable. 

Confidentiality - data treatment

The data are released only on such industry, fuel classification and region level from which data on individual respondents cannot be identified or deduced. The general principle is that data are confidential if they consist of fewer than three respondents' responses.

Release policy

Statistics Finland publishes new statistical data at 8 am on weekdays in its web service. The release times of statistics are given in advance in the release calendar available in the web service. The data are public after they have been updated in the web service. 

Accessibility and clarity

Statistical data are published as database tables in the StatFin database. The database is the primary publishing site of data, and new data are updated first there. When releasing statistical data, existing database tables can be updated with new data or completely new database tables can be published.

In addition to statistical data published in the StatFin database, a release on the key data is usually published in the web service. If the release contains data concerning several reference periods (e.g. monthly and annual data), a review bringing together these data is published in the web service. Database tables updated at the time of publication are listed both in the release and in the review. In some cases, statistical data can also be published as mere database releases in the StatFin database. No release or review is published in connection with these database releases.

Releases and database tables are published in three languages, in Finnish, Swedish and English. The language versions of releases may have more limited content than in Finnish.

Information about changes in the publication schedules of releases and database tables and about corrections are given as change releases in the web service.

Data revision - policy

Revisions – i.e. improvements in the accuracy of statistical data already published – are a normal feature of statistical production and result in improved quality of statistics. The principle is that statistical data are based on the best available data and information concerning the statistical phenomenon. On the other hand, the revisions are communicated as transparently as possible in advance. Advance communication ensures that the users can prepare for the data revisions.

The reason why data in statistical releases become revised is often caused by the data becoming supplemented. Then the new, revised statistical figure is based on a wider information basis and describes the phenomenon more accurately than before.

Revisions of statistical data may also be caused by the calculation method used, such as annual benchmarking or updating of weight structures. Changes of base years and used classifications may also cause revisions to data.

Quality assessment

The quality of the statistics on energy use in manufacturing is assessed in several stages of the statistical process. Annual comparisons are made with the data of other energy statistics.

Quality assurance

Quality management requires comprehensive guidance of activities. The quality management framework of the field of statistics is the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP). The quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland are compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice. 

Further information: Quality management | Statistics Finland (stat.fi)

Statistics Finland conducts statistical audits every year to ensure the high quality of the statistics.

The statistics on energy use in manufacturing are official statistics. The Official Statistics of Finland (OSF) are a comprehensive collection of statistics describing the development and state of society. They comprise nearly 300 sets of statistics on 26 different topics. The producers of Official Statistics of Finland have approved a common quality assurance in which they commit to common quality criteria and quality assurance measures. The quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland are compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice. The good practices followed in the statistics are presented in Statistics Finland's Quality Guidelines for Official Statistics handbook.

User access

Data are released to all users at the same time. Statistical data may only be handled at Statistics Finland and information on them may be given before release only by persons involved in the production of the statistics concerned or who need the data of the statistics concerned in their own work before the data are published.

Further information: Publication principles for statistics

Unless otherwise separately stated in connection with the product, data or service concerned, Statistics Finland is the producer of the data and the owner of the copyright. The terms of use for statistical data

Statistical experts

Service email
energia@stat.fi
Sami Heikkinen
Senior Statistician
029 551 3494