Energy Use Data Handbook, 1990 and 1998 to 2004
Chapter 3 – Commercial/Institutional Sector
The Data Situation
Of all the sectors reviewed in this handbook, the commercial/institutional sector has the most significant limitations with regard to available data. Aggregate data on commercial/institutional energy use are reported in Statistics Canada's Report on Energy Supply-Demand in Canada (RESD) (Cat. No. 57-003-XIB), under the "public administration" and "commercial and other institutional" categories. Statistics Canada defines these categories as final consumers not reported in the other end-use sectors. Therefore, energy use data for the commercial/institutional sector essentially represent the energy use not accounted for in the residential, industrial, transportation and agriculture sectors.
Recently, the Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) has noticed some anomalies in the petroleum products data for the commercial and institutional sector, in particular, a sharp increase in consumption since 1999. There is some evidence that fuel marketers (included in the commercial/institutional sector) are buying petroleum products from refineries and then re-selling the fuel to other sectors (e.g. industrial, transportation). As a result, some heavy fuel oil, light fuel oil and kerosene may be erroneously attributed to the commercial sector. However, there is inadequate information to determine the extent of the problem. Natural Resources Canada is currently working with Statistics Canada to better understand the data trends and to improve the quality of the commercial/institutional data reported.
The OEE developed the Commercial/Institutional End-Use Model (CEUM) to assess Canadian energy use trends in this sector. This year, the OEE reviewed CEUM and implemented a redesign to improve the way energy is allocated among the different activity types and to various end-uses of the sector. Intensities for the various breakdowns are key drivers in the allocation of energy use by CEUM. With the revisions to CEUM, the model is now using initial energy intensity estimates that match regional energy use reported in RESD. As a result of these improvements, the energy breakdown by activity type found in this Energy Use Data Handbook, 1990 and 1998 to 2004 is different from last year's publication.
In 2005, Statistics Canada undertook – on behalf of Natural Resources Canada's OEE – the second Commercial and Institutional Consumption of Energy Survey (CICES). This survey was conducted for the reference year 2004. While the first survey (then entitled Consumption of Energy Survey) collected data for the 2003 calendar year and covered only universities, colleges and hospitals, the new one has been broadened to include the entire commercial and institutional sector. In addition both survey editions are based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and enable us to better understand energy consumption patterns in the commercial and institutional sector.
CEUM uses estimates of floor space which were developed by Informetrica Limited for the OEE. They are calculated from average costs per unit of floor space, and investment flows for new construction, as well as employment and gross domestic product data. As is the case for CICES, these estimates are categorized using NAICS.
A penetration rate for air conditioners was estimated from the Commercial and Institutional Building Energy Use Survey 2000 (CIBEUS) data in order to determine the proportion of air conditioned floor space. This is used to calculate the energy intensity related to space cooling where only the air conditioned floor space is taken into consideration.
The model also takes into account the influence of weather on commercial/institutional energy demand. It uses the number of heating degree-days in Monthly Values of Degree-Days below 18.0°C and the number of cooling degree-days in Monthly Values of Degree-Days above 18.0°C, two reports from Environment Canada.
The commercial/institutional price of heating oil and natural gas are weighted averages of regional prices taken from the Petroleum Resources Branch of Natural Resources Canada and Statistics Canada's Energy Statistics Handbook (Cat. No. 57-601-XIE), respectively. The commercial/institutional price of electricity is a weighted average of the data found in Hydro-Québec's Comparison of Electricity Prices in Major North American Cities.
| Due to rounding, the numbers in the tables may not add up or calculate to their reported totals or growth rates. |
View handbook tables.
- Commercial/Institutional Secondary Energy Use by Energy Source, End-Use and Activity Type
- Commercial/Institutional GHG Emissions by Energy Source, End-Use and Activity Type – Including Electricity-Related Emissions
- Commercial/Institutional GHG Emissions by End-Use and Activity Type – Excluding Electricity-Related Emissions
- Commercial/Institutional Secondary Energy Use by Activity Type and Energy Source
- Commercial/Institutional Energy Prices and Background Indicators
| 
OEE Home
