Gas use
Understanding changes in gas use by large Australian businesses
This 2017–18 pilot project explored the use of data to understand how recent increases in gas prices were affecting large businesses and industries, and hence the economy. The aim was to compare National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting data with tax and survey data within the Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment (BLADE) but there were limitations with the data that could be analysed. Despite the limitations, an investigation of aggregate data found that businesses had not yet changed their energy use or activities in the short term. This was likely due to short-term business behaviour being driven by the timing of gas contract cycles as well as constraints in manufacturing processes. The project revealed difficulties in using the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting data to explore firm-level behaviour over time. PEAN addressed the difficulties in our 2018–19 project on energy data.
The project lead for PEAN was the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, with support from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Clean Energy Regulator.
