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Commercial and Institutional Consumption of Energy Survey (CICES), December 2005

Data sharing

Certain measures were taken to ensure that the CICES estimates are reliable enough for publication. The letters used in the tables in this report indicate the degree of sampling error, represented by a coefficient of variation of the estimate. The letter "A" indicates that the estimate has a very low coefficient of variation; the letter "B" indicates a somewhat higher coefficient of variation, and so on. Estimates graded "A" or "B" are considered precise enough for most uses. Estimates where the coefficient of variation is higher – graded "C" or "D" – are precise enough for a few uses, but should be used with caution. The letter "F" means that the coefficient of variation was too high for the estimate to be shared. These estimates are not published because they may present too great a sampling error.

The classification of commercial and institutional establishments covered by the survey is provided in Appendix A. The survey methodology is described in detail in Appendix B, a glossary is provided in Appendix C, and the survey questions are in Appendix D.

Abstract

  • In 2005, Statistics Canada again undertook, on behalf of Natural Resources Canada, the Commercial and Institutional Consumption of Energy Survey (CICES). This survey was conducted for the first time in 2004, but it targeted only universities, colleges and hospitals. CICES is the same survey, but broadened to cover the entire commercial and institutional sector, using 2004 as the base year.

  • This survey gathered data on the energy consumption and the energy intensity of commercial and institutional establishments. The data are also published by energy source and by region, provided the quality of the estimates satisfies the distribution criteria of the Statistics Act.

  • In 2004, commercial and institutional establishments consumed nearly 945 million gigajoules (GJ).

  • The survey data can be used to calculate energy intensity expressed as energy use per square metre. The overall energy intensity was 1.60 GJ/. The office sector had the lowest energy intensity (1.23 GJ/), and the education sector was second lowest (1.27 GJ/). At the other end of the spectrum, the accommodation and food services sector had the greatest energy intensity (2.21 GJ/).

  • The Atlantic region (1.29 GJ/) and British Columbia (1.30 GJ/) had the lowest energy intensities of all the regions of Canada. At the other end of the scale, the Prairies (1.93 GJ/) had the highest energy intensity.