Electricity Needs Grow: IAEA Training Helps 13 Countries Build Better Energy Data

IAEA Energy Planner and Economist Jessica Callen-Kovtunova, the course’s Scientific Secretary, said exchanges between national experts and international organizations help improve data quality and its use in decision-making.

Energy experts from 13 countries gathered in Singapore for an International Atomic Energy Agency training course designed to improve the data underpinning national energy decisions. The course focused on helping governments understand how energy is produced, transformed and consumed, giving planners a stronger basis for assessing future needs. Reliable statistics support decisions about energy supplies, including whether and how nuclear power could contribute to meeting demand.

The three-day course ran from 20 to 22 October at the Energy Studies Institute at the National University of Singapore. It took place under the renewed Singapore–IAEA Third Country Training Programme, supported through the Singapore Cooperation Programme. The training formed part of a regional technical cooperation initiative helping IAEA Member States strengthen their energy planning capabilities.

Twenty energy experts, planners and statisticians attended from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, the Syrian Arab Republic and Thailand. They represented energy ministries, statistical offices and other national institutions responsible for collecting and analysing energy information. Their discussions addressed how better data can help governments compare long-term strategies and track energy security, efficiency, economic development and climate commitments.

Building a stronger foundation for energy decisions

Peter Govindasamy, Executive Director of the Energy Studies Institute, Director-General at Singapore's Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry, and the course director, highlighted the challenge of meeting rising demand with secure, affordable and reliable supplies. He identified reliable, timely and trusted data as a common requirement for addressing these priorities. IAEA Energy Planner and Economist Jessica Callen-Kovtunova, the course's Scientific Secretary, said exchanges between national experts and international organizations help improve data quality and its use in decision-making.

Before arriving in Singapore, participants completed a one-week online course on core concepts and terminology, delivered in partnership with the United Nations Statistics Division. Lectures, case studies and practical exercises during the in-person training helped them apply international standards for energy statistics and balances to their national data. Sessions examined the legal and institutional arrangements needed for effective collection, international recommendations and classifications, including the Standard International Energy Product Classification, and methods for analysing different energy sources.

Applying international standards and planning tools

The final sessions covered commodity balances, energy balances and energy efficiency indicators, helping participants examine how energy supplies and uses are recorded. A practical session introduced the IAEA's Model for Analysis of Energy Demand, which evaluates future demand under different economic, technological and population scenarios. The tool supports exploration of how changing national circumstances could affect energy requirements over time.

Experts contributed from the United Nations Statistics Division, Asian Development Bank, International Energy Agency, International Renewable Energy Agency and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Presentations addressed international recommendations for energy statistics, stronger national energy information systems, regional and global energy outlooks, and progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 7 in Asia and the Pacific. Each participating country shared achievements, collection and reporting challenges, and areas for improvement, creating opportunities to compare approaches and identify practical solutions adaptable to national circumstances.

Rising electricity demand puts data gaps in focus

IAEA projections estimate that electricity generation in South-Eastern Asia will more than triple by 2060 compared with 2025 levels. Meeting that demand will require strong planning capabilities supported by dependable information about energy supply and consumption. The scale of the projected increase gives countries a clear reason to improve the data used to assess future infrastructure and supply options.

Malaysia illustrates this work, with fossil fuels providing more than 80 per cent of its electricity generation in 2025 and coal accounting for the largest share. The country is consolidating national energy data into a single energy balance and improving estimates of final consumption by sector to address gaps in demand-side information. Fairuz Suzana Mohd Chachuli, Director of the Planning and International Relations Division at the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, said the course helped identify improvements to data collection and energy balances that could support better decisions about Malaysia's future needs.