Electricity Supply Disposition Annual Survey 2015

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Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP)

Reporting Guide

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the 2015 Annual Electricity Supply and Disposition Survey. If you need more information, please call the Statistics Canada Help Line at the number below.

Your answers are confidential.

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act.

Statistics Canada will use information from this survey for statistical and research purposes.

Help Line: 1-877-604-7828

Table of contents

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Reporting Instructions
Electricity Generation Method
Combustible Fuel
Receipts of Electricity from the U.S.A.
Receipts of Electricity from Within Canada
Total Supply
Deliveries of Electricity to the U.S.A.
Deliveries of Electricity Within Province
Transmission, Distribution and Other Losses
General Information: Purpose of survey, Data-sharing agreements and Data linkage

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Reporting Instructions

Please report information for the period of January to December, 2015.

Please complete all sections as applicable.

If the information requested is unknown, please provide your best estimate.

This guide is designed to assist you as you complete the 2015 Annual Electricity Supply and Disposition Survey. If you need more information, please call 1-877-604-7828.

Electricity Generation Method

Nuclear: Electricity generated at an electric power plant whose turbines are driven by steam generated in a reactor by heat from the fission of nuclear fuel.

Hydro: Electric power generated from a plant in which the turbine generators are driven by flowing water.

Tidal: Electric power generated from a plant in which turbine generators are driven from tidal movements.

Wind: A power plant in which the prime mover is a wind turbine. Electric power is generated by the conversion of wind power into mechanical energy.

Solar: Electricity created using Photovoltaic (PV) technology which converts sunlight into electricity.

Wave: Electricity generated from mechanical energy derived from wave motion.

Geothermal: Electricity generated from heat emitted from within the earth’s crust, usually in the form of hot water or steam.

Combustible fuel

Coal: A readily combustible, black or brownish-black rock-like substance, whose composition, including inherent moisture, consists of more than 50% by weight and 70% by volume of carbonaceous material. It is formed from plant remains that have been compacted, hardened, chemically altered and metamorphosed by heat and pressure over geologic time without access to air.

Natural gas: A mixture of hydrocarbons (principally methane) and small quantities of various hydrocarbons existing in the gaseous phase or in solution with crude oil in underground reservoirs.

Wood (Report for “Dry” method): Wood and wood energy used as fuel, including round wood (cord wood), lignin, wood scraps from furniture and window frame manufacturing, wood chips, bark, sawdust, forest residues, charcoal and pulp waste.

Spent pulping liquor: A by-product in the paper making process, containing carbohydrate and lignin decomposition products.

Landfill gas: A biogas composed principally of methane and carbon dioxide produced by anaerobic digestion of landfill waste.

Municipal and other waste: Wastes (liquids or solids) produced by households, industry, hospitals and others (examples: paper, cardboard, rubber, leather, natural textiles, wood, brush, grass clippings, kitchen waste and sewage sludge).

Other biomass (food processing): Can include residues produced during the processing of a product, such as cheese whey, canning factory residues, fruit pits, apple pomace and coffee grounds.

Other biomass (type unknown): Any other type of biomass not otherwise identified on the questionnaire. Specify in the spaces provided.

Receipts of electricity from the U.S.A.

If applicable, please report the total amount of electricity (MWh) and Canadian dollar value (thousands of dollars) this business imported/purchased from the United States.

Receipts of electricity from within Canada

If applicable, please report the total quantities of electricity (MWh) and total dollar value (thousands of dollars) purchased or received from within and/or other provinces (e.g., other utilities/producers, transmitters, distributors).

Total Supply

This is the sum of Total Generation, Total Receipts from United States, Total Receipts from Other Provinces and Total Receipts from Within Province. The Total Supply number must equal the Total Disposal number.

Deliveries of electricity to the U.S.A.

If applicable, please report the amount of electricity (MWh) and Canadian dollar value (thousands of dollars) this business sold/exported to the United States.

Deliveries of electricity within Canada

If applicable, please report the amount of electricity (MWh) and total dollar value (thousands of dollars) your company sold to other domestic companies, by province or territory.

Transmission, distribution and other losses

Include :

  • transmission losses
  • adjustments
  • “unaccounted for” amounts which are subject to variation because of cyclical billing

Exclude :

  • generating station use output as measured at the generating station gate.

General information

Purpose of survey

The purpose of this survey is to obtain information on the supply of, and demand for, energy in Canada. This information serves as an important indicator of Canadian economic performance, and is used by all levels of government in establishing informed policies in the energy area. In the case of public utilities, it is used by governmental agencies to fulfill their regulatory responsibilities. The private sector also uses this information in the corporate decision-making process. Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.

Data-sharing agreements

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial and territorial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and businesses may not object to the sharing of the data.

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon.

The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician and returning it with the completed questionnaire. Please specify the organizations with which you do not want to share your data.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut as well as with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources, the Ministère de l’énergie et des ressources naturelles du Québec, the Manitoba Department of Mineral Resources, Alberta Energy, the British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, the British Columbia Ministry of Natural Gas Development, National Energy Board, Natural Resources Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

Record linkages

To enhance the data from this survey and to minimize the reporting burden, Statistics Canada may combine it with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.

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