Energy Indicators for Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies International Atomic Energy Agency United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs International Energy Agency Eurostat European Environment Agency

(d) Alternative Definitions/Indicators: A more representative indicator of 
affordability is the share of income needed to satisfy minimum household commercial 
energy requirements according to household income group. The minimum energy 
requirements are multiplied by the corresponding energy fuel prices to determine the 
minimum energy requirement expenditures. The share is then calculated by dividing 
by the income corresponding to each income group. Countries would benefit from the 
development of this alternative indicator, although it is clear that data availability 
represents a major problem in most countries, especially developing countries. The 
indicator implies the definition of minimum energy requirements for representative 
households for each income group. Defining minimum energy requirements is a very 
subjective task and may prove to be difficult and controversial. 
ASSESSMENT OF DATA 
(a) Data Needed to Compile the Indicator: Annual household energy expenditure, 
or annual household fuel consumption multiplied by the corresponding energy fuel 
prices, and household disposable income or private consumption for the overall 
population and for the 20% of the population with the lowest income. 

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(b) National and International Data Availability and Sources: At the national 
level the most important source of data on disposable income (private consumption) 
and structure of consumption is household surveys. The results of these surveys can 
be obtained from reports published by national statistical agencies. About two-thirds 
of the developing
 
countries have conducted sample household surveys that are 
representative nationally, and some of these provide high-quality data on living 
standards. These surveys are carried out on an irregular basis and may be targeted to 
specific income groups or geographic areas. Generally, data on the detailed structure 
of consumption in low- and middle-income economies are weak. In some countries, 
surveys are limited to urban areas or even to capital cities and so do not reflect 
national spending patterns. Urban surveys tend to show lower-than-average shares for 
food and higher-than-average shares for gross rent, fuel and power, transport and 
communications, and other consumption. 
Data can also be obtained from international agencies such as the World Bank and 
from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which carries out its own 
surveys of households. Household consumption structure, including the share of 
household income spent on fuel and power, was reported by the World Bank in the 
2000 edition of the World Development Indicators. Data for developed countries can 
be obtained from Eurostat and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 
Development (OECD). Data from the European Community Household Panel are 
currently available for 1995 and 1996. 
Data on household energy use are also available from the International Energy 
Agency (IEA). However, until the early 1980s, the household or residential sector was 
not well distinguished from the service/commercial sector in OECD energy statistics, 
particularly for liquid and solid fuels. In OECD countries, this distinction is now 
common. In developing countries, data often distinguish between residential and 
commercial consumption of electricity and natural gas, but users of liquid and solid 
fuels are often not accurately identified. Many national energy balances thus fail to 
distinguish between the residential and service/commercial sectors. Such problems are 
indicated when data show electricity and natural gas consumption for both the 
residential and service/commercial sectors, while liquid and solid fuel consumption is 
shown for only one of the two sectors. 
Household fuel and electricity prices in developed countries are generally available, both 
nationally and internationally (OECD, Eurostat), but the availability of price data varies 
from one country to another. For developing countries, data may be available from 
national sources.