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India’s Energy Data Management

MEREDYDD EVANS

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

2018 EIA Annual Conference, Washington DC 
Intro 

Current energy data system in India

Two examples of challenges and opportunities:

Biomass

Coal

Energy Dashboard and future improvements

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EDM Institutions in India

June 5, 20183

Dozens of ministries and 

agencies maintain energy 

data today

Data collected, but not 

disseminated

Only Ministry of Statistics and 

Programme Implementation 

(MoSPI) and Central Electricity 

Authority (CEA) are required to 

disseminate

Non-sensitive data not shared 

publicly

Many data sets are collected for 

administrative use

Lack of coordination among 

data collection agencies Source: Prayas, 2014. An Assessment of 

Energy Data Management in India
Problems in Current Energy Data System

Insufficient consumption data

Harder to collect (biomass use, space heating/cooling, appliance use, unorganized sector)

Not primary focus of energy-related ministries / agencies

Energy consumption data collected as part of other surveys

Many gaps

Supply data relatively better but this is a room for improvement

Not sufficiently compiled and cross-checked, data gaps, duplication

Various surveys ask similar questions

Ease of access and timeline 

No single place to find energy data

Dissemination in PDF format

Some reports released with 1.5-2 year lag (administrative delays)

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Efforts to Improve Energy Data

NITI Aayog and USAID convened studies on 

data availability, gaps, international best 

practices, and options for improving data

Interagency Working Groups on Energy Supply 

and Energy Demand

Capacity building: webinars, seminars, study 

tours and visiting scholars to learn about 

methodologies, institutional issues, authorities, 

etc.

Work on specific data issues: oil and gas, coal 

data, biomass, buildings

New institutional approaches under 

consideration June 5, 2018

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Traditional Biomass Data 

Large share of total energy use, 

especially in buildings

No actual surveys on traditional 

biomass use 

Estimates today vary 

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0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Sinha et al

IEA

FAO

Bhattacharya et al

Ahmed

Fernandes et al

IEA

FAO

IESS

IEA

FAO

IEA

1991 1996 2000 2007 2013

Total IEA

Total other

Ag residues

Dung

Firewood

EJ/y

IEA estimates
Traditional Biomass Data 

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But traditional biomass is important to understand future trends (and to pollution 

today)

India – projection, all other countries – historical data 

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050

Biomass Oil Electricity Coal Gas

Share of biomass in the residential sector energy mix Biomass use in the residential sector will 

remain substantial by mid-century

Results from GCAM 4.4. reference scenario 

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Share of biomass in residential energy use (%)

GDP per capita (thous. 1990$US,energy

India

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

China

Mexico

Turkey

Vietnam
Coal Data

Coal for power 

44% of the primary energy mix

77% of power generation 

Coal Controller’s Organisation (CCO): coal dispatches to power plants 

Coal Electricity Authority (CEA): actual coal receipts by power plants

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0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

CCO CEA

Coal, million tons

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Difference in coal, million tons

Better coordination has helped in reducing 

discrepancies in coal data
Energy Data Dashboard

Developed for NITI Aayog by Prayas Energy Group

Simplifies access to energy data

Enables easy downloading of data into convenient spread-sheet formats

Available at http://www.indiaenergy.gov.in/edm

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Conclusions 

Improving energy data is critically important for India 

India has made significant progress but many challenges remain 

Benefits of continued improvements:

Better understanding of trends, given India’s large growth potential

Clearer information for decisionmaking

Improved action on sustainability and energy security

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