National Statistical Institute

Environmental and Energy Accounts

2 Panayot Volov str., 1038 Sofia, Bulgaria

Physical energy flow accounts (PEFA) is one module of the European environmental-economic accounts - Regulation (EU) 691/2011 Annex VI. PEFA record the flows of energy (in terajoules) from the environment to the economy (natural inputs), within the economy (products), and from the economy back to the environment (residuals), using the accounting framework of physical supply and use tables.

PEFA provide information on energy flows arranged in a way fully compatible with concepts, principles, and classifications of national accounts – thus enabling integrated analyses of environmental, energy and economic issues e.g. through environmental-economic modelling. PEFA complement the traditional energy statistics, balances and derived indicators which are the main reference data source for EU energy policies.

This national metadata refers to the PEFA questionnaire delivered to Eurostat: data on supply (table A), use (table B), transformation use (table B1), end use (table B2) and emission-relevant use (table C), key indicators of physical energy flow accounts by NACE Rev. 2 activity (table D), and physical energy flow accounts totals bridging to energy balances totals (table E).

The PEFA questionnaire is available on Eurostat's website: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/environment/methodology

Physical energy flow accounts (PEFA) datasets have the following dimensions:

1. Supply and use tables (STK_FLOW): the elements of this dimension are the five tables detailing energy supply (questionnaire table A) and use; the total energy use (table B) is the sum of transformation use (table B1) and end use (table B2), and a certain part of it is emission relevant (table C).
2. Energy product (PROD_NRG): (not relevant for questionnaire table D and E) The flows of energy recorded in PEFA are broadly grouped into natural energy inputs (flows from environment to economy), energy products (flows within economy), and energy residuals (flows from economy to environment mainly). Each of these generic groups is further broken down. In total this dimension distinguishes 31 items which are regulated in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/172.
3. Classification of economic activities - NACE Rev.2 (NACE_R2): (not relevant for questionnaire table E) The supply and use of energy flows is broken down by NACE classification of economic activities. The aggregation level used is A*64 (i.e. 64 branches), fully compatible with ESA supply and use tables. Furthermore, this dimension includes private households, accumulation (e.g. product inventories), the rest of the world economy for imports and exports, and the environment.
4. Indicators (INDIC_PEFA): (only relevant for questionnaire tables D and E): Various key indicators that can be derived from the physical supply and use tables and so-called 'bridging-items' which present the various elements explaining the differences between the national totals as reported by PEFA vis-a-vis the national totals as reported by Eurostat's energy balances.
5. Geopolitical entity (GEO): EU Member States, EFTA countries, candidate countries, and potential candidates. 
6. Period of time (TIME): Energy flow data are annual.
7. Unit (UNIT): Energy flows are reported in Terajoules.

The data set covers the entire national economy as defined in national accounts (ESA 2010, paragraph 2.04), as well as its physical relation to economies in the rest of the world and the environment.

Physical energy flow accounts (PEFA) are conceptually rooted in the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) which is an international statistical standard. The SEEA central framework provides standard concepts, definitions, classifications, accounting rules and tables for the provision of statistics on the environment and its relationship with the economy.
PEFA constitute satellite accounts to the National Accounts (NA). Hence, the statistical concepts and definitions of PEFA are derived from those of NA.
As far as applicable PEFA is also compliant with the statistical concepts and definitions internationally established for energy statistics: the International Recommendations for Energy Statistics (IRES).
Three concepts are essential to PEFA:
1) The concept of three generic types of energy flows as established in SEEA, namely:
a) natural energy inputs: flows from the natural environment into the economy such as fossil energy carriers in solid, liquid and gaseous form, biomass, solar radiation, kinetic energy in form of hydro and wind, geothermal heat etc.;
b) energy products: output flows from production processes as defined in national accounts (ESA); typically products produced by extractive industries, refineries, power plants etc.;
c) energy residuals: mainly energy in form of dissipative heat arising from the end use of energy products, flowing from the economy into the natural environment.
2) The accounting framework of (physical) supply and use tables as established in NA and SEEA;
3) The residence principle as established in NA and SEEA, i.e. PEFA records energy flows related to resident unit's activities, regardless where those occur geographically.

Data refer to activities of resident economic units in the sense of SEEA CF 2012 and national accounts (ESA), including households.

The national economy is as defined in SEEA CF 2012 and national accounts (ESA); i.e. all economic activities undertaken by resident units (see ESA 2010, paragraph 2.04). A unit is said to be a resident unit of a country when it has a centre of economic interest in the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (1 year or more) in economic activities in that territory.

The reference area is the economic territory as defined in SEEA CF 2021 and National accounts (ESA).

2014-2021

Not applicable.

The unit of measure is terajoule (TJ).

The data refer to the calendar year.

PEFA are legally covered by Regulation (EC) No. 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts as amended by Regulation (EU) No. 538/2014. EEEA currently include six modules (air emissions accounts, environmentally related taxes by economic activity, economy-wide material flow accounts, environmental protection expenditure accounts, environmental goods and services sector accounts, and physical energy flow accounts).

Not applicable.

• Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p.164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used forthe production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technicaldevelopments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
• National Law on Statistics - Confidentiality of statistical data is defined in chapter six SECRET PROTECTION.

Individual data are not published in accordance with article 25 of the Law on Statistics. The publishing of individual data can be performed only in accordance with article 26 of the same law.

Data are not published at national level.

Data are not published at national level.

Data are not published at national level.

Data are disseminated annualy only to Eurostat.

No news realeses linked to the data. Data are transmitted only to Eurostat.

No publications linked to the data. Data are transmitted only to Eurostat.

No on-line databases for PEFA data at national level. Data are transmitted only to Eurostat.

Will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT.

Not applicable.

Not available

Will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT.

No national reference metadata files and methodological papers. Data are produced in line with the Eurostat guidelines in the PEFA Manual 2014 as well as the improvements and clarifications of methodological issues by the Working Group on Environmental Accounts.

Will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT.

A quality report by template is prepared and submited  to Eurostat every year

Quality assurance is determined by European Statistics code of Practice and a common framework for quality managment in the National Statistical Institute.

Data provide comparable information between countries, as they are produced on the base of the annual energy questionnaires, submited to Eurostat  (Regulation (EU) 1099/2008 and all its ammendments) and the IT tool PEFA_Builder. Data are with good quality.

Not available

There is no available feedback on user satisfaction.

Data meet the requirements of the Regulation (EC) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts and its amendment in terms of the observed indicators, scope of energy products and structure of supply and use tables.

Will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT.

Not applicable

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

Not applicable to statistical accounts.

21 months after the reference period– transmission to Eurostat; no national release

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT.

Data on PEFA are compiled according to international guidelines and  insofar comparable. Application of the PEFA Builder tool ensures comparability to a certain extent.

Not applicable.

Please see the table in 15.2.1.1.

Will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT.

Please use below table for explaining b)-flags (breaks in time series):

 No breaks in time series.

See the details in the following subcomponents.

Not applicable; reported PEFA data are only annual.

PEFA data are coherent with ESA supply and use tables, ensured by the accounting framework and the residence principle applied..

There is a good cooperation with national colleagues compiling AEA. 

AEA compilers use as auxilary data the same data sourses as PEFA compilers - Energy balances data, administrative data about allocation of transport on residence principle and  a detailed breakdown of economic activities by NACE Rev.2 (2-digits).

Not applicable.

There are no cross-domain plausibility checks between PEFA data on air transport versus OECD's data on CO2-emissions of air transport at national level. Such checks are performed at Eurostat level.

There are cross-domain plausibility checks between PEFA data points and corresponding data points in energy statistics.The main data sources for compiling PEFA are annual energy balances data and disaggregated final energy consumption data in households.

The corresponding data points between PEFA and EW-MFA - the transformation use of non-renewable natural energy inputs and the domestic extraction of certain energy products, are plausible as annual Energy statisitcs data are main data sources for the both accounts.

Eurostat's validation procedures should ensure full internal consistency, at least for the mandatory data points.

Costs related to the collection and production of statistical data are announced annually in the National Statistical Program. No specific studies on the burden of the respondents as PEFA are compiled annually, based on an existing statistical data and administrative information as data sources. Statistical data are taken from the National energy balances (6 Eurostat/IEA annual energy questionnaires) according to Regulation (EC) 1099/2008 and all its amendmets. Administrative data from DG Civil Aviation Administration  and National Revenue Agency together with internal data from other statistical domains (Transport statistics and Energy statistics) are used as well in order to apply the residence principle. Additional internal information about a detailed breakdown of economic activities by NACE Rev.2 A64 is obtained from the Energy statistics – from the regular annual statistical survey “Fuels and Energy Consumption”, described in specific details below in 18.1.5. 

For populating PEFA tables, the Eurostat IT tool “PEFA Builder” is used.

The production of PEFA takes  by means of estimations 30 - 40 days full time work of at least two experts.In case of revisions of previous reference periods data, the working time for production of PEFA increase significantly and may even  take 2 and more months of full time working of more than 2 experts. Currently, one expert in the field of Energy statistics works on compiling PEFA.

Generally revisions are made in case of changes in the methodology and revisions in the annual energy questionnaires.

Will be calculated and provided by EUROSTAT.

Data sources used to produce physical energy flow accounts are described in the following sub-concepts.

National energy balances (6 Eurostat/IEA annual energy questionnaires).

National energy balances (6 Eurostat/IEA annual energy questionnaires).

National energy balances (6 Eurostat/IEA annual energy questionnaires).

National energy balances (6 Eurostat/IEA annual energy questionnaires).

• An auxiliary file PEFA_NACE Breakdown is used to develop 'distribution keys' to assign energy use to production activities under NACE 2-digit divisions. The file is filed in with final energy consumption data from national database "Fuels and energy consumption". The database is a result from the regular annual statistical survey "Fuels and Energy Consumption". The survey provides data on energy and non-energy consumption in Bulgaria. The report is submitted online via Information System “Business statistics” (ISBS). It is a part from the Annual Report of the non-financial enterprises, compiling balance sheets, which is submitted to the NSI by industrial and non-industrial enterprises that were active during whole or part of the reference year. Database includes name of reporting unit, economic activity by NACE Rev.2, consumption of energy products in physical units of measurement. For the purposes of PEFA, consumption data for each energy product are aggregated by NACE A64 sectors and calculated in energy units Terajoules (TJ), using the relevant conversion factors reported by Annual energy questionnaires for the corresponding reference year.

• Distribution keys to assign energy use to categories of household consumption are developed on the basis of annual energy questionnaire for statistics on final energy consumption in households.

The PEFA Builder is used for populating the PEFA Tables.

For allocation of transport on residence principle, the following data sources are used:

• for Road transport - National Revenue Agency data on the quantities of fuels loaded by foreign citizens in the country, to whom VAT has been refunded in combination with Transport statistics annual data about the fuels loaded abroad by resident enterprices in the field of freight and passenger transport,
• for Air transport - annual data from DG Civil Aviation Administration about the fuels loaded abroad by resident air carriers and  annual data from Energy statistics on fuels loaded on the territory of the country for domestic and international flights by resident and non-resident air-carriers,
• for Water transport - Transport statistics annual data about fuels loaded by resident ships abroad in combination with annual data from Energy statistics on fuels loaded on the territory of the country by foreign ships.

 annual

PEFA are compiled annually, based on an existing statistical data and administrative information as data sources. 

For compiling PEFA questionnaire, the checked and validated by Eurostat and International Energy Agency data on Energy balances are used. In addition, the Eurostat IT tool PEFA Builder is used to produce PEFA data. This tool contains in-built automatic rules for internal consistency of the data for a given reporting period in line with the Technical note Validation rules for PEFA.

Manual checks are made in 2 directions:

• Year-on-year changes;
• External consistency between PEFA and Energy Statistics, between PEFA and AEA.

In case of differences in some of the above mentioned directions, logical explanations are sought or corrections are made where necessary.

Energy domain as a main data source for PEFA, provides highly comparable annual energy statistics. Energy data is produced on the basis of a standardised and internationally agreed methodology (Eurostat - OECD/IEA - UNECE). In general, the energy statistics produced is coherent with the International Recommendations for Energy Statistics adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission. Comparability over time is ensured with a solid methodology harmonised on international level that is stable over long periods. Energy balances are highly coherent with other annual energy statistics. Data are checked in detail for internal consistency/coherence. Detailed checks involve the consistency of time series, detection of outliers, efficiency of energy transformation processes and also checks on utilization factors.

Administrative data as additional sources are checked for completeness in terms of scope and changes compared to the previous year. 

The Eurostat IT tool PEFA Builder is used to produce PEFA data.

Not applicable.

The assignment of Autoproducers was fully compatible with the ESA supply and use tables - as a secondary activity production of electricity and heat  by industries, i.e. the produced energy by autoproducers as a result of their secondary activity production of electricity and/or heat was assigned to corresponding NACE of their principal activity not to NACE D35.

For allocation of road transport energy use to NACE industries and households, the following method is used:

1. By annual surveys on energy statistics we collect data from producers, importers and exporters of transport fuel. Thus, together with additional administrative data, we estimate the total annual fuel consumption for transport for the country territory.
2. Enterprises report to NSI their consumption of transport fuels as a part of the Annual statistical report for the economic activity (Annual Report of the non-financial enterprises, compiling balance sheets). The collected data are aggregated by NACE A64 sectors.
3. From the household budgets survey we estimate the annual transport fuel consumption of the households.
4. We subtract the household consumption from the national total. From the remaining sum, the data for all NACE sectors, except NACE 49 is subtracted. The result is added to NACE 49 "Land transport and transport via pipelines".

As result: Total fuel consumption = NACE A64 consumption by sectors + households’ consumption.

The same method as for development of 'distribution keys' to assign energy use to the detailed breakdown of economic activities (NACE 2 digit divisions), explained in 18.1.5.

The modules of PEFA and AEA follow the reporting framework. AEA uses as auxilary data  the same data sourses as PEFA - Energy balances data, administrative data about allocation of transport on residence principle and  a detailed breakdown of economic activities by NACE Rev.2 (2-digits).

Not applicable.

Not applicable.