
Breadcrumbs
Asia Data Transparency Report 2023
Understanding the state of data transparency for power sector decarbonisation in Asia
Highlights
684 mil
Population for which there is no to little data on their electricity demand and supply (24 out of 39 economies)
6
Economies who scored “good” or “excellent” demonstrate good practice of data transparency in Asia (India, New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Korea)
74
Open data sources surveyed with six criteria of data transparency from 39 economies
About
Data plays a crucial role in accelerating decarbonisation of the power sector. Despite the size of emissions and coal consumption in Asia, high-quality power sector data is challenging to find. This report aims to improve visibility on the availability of power sector data by conducting regional and economy-level assessments on data transparency in Asia.
Executive summary
Data transparency in Asia needs improvement
Open power data is a key accelerator for coal-to-clean electricity transition in Asia
Uni Lee Data Analyst, Ember
Data transparency enables various stakeholders in the society to participate in building pathways to decarbonise the electricity grid. I hope that revealing the state of data transparency can trigger a regional and national conversation about the need to make power sector data open and free to access for all.

Chapter 1 | Introduction
Data Transparency for Asia’s Power Sector Decarbonisation
High-quality, open data on the power sector can accelerate coal-to-clean electricity transition in Asia.
Scores of 0-5 were given, following the scoring criteria for each question. Then, the overall score was determined by taking the mean average of all the scores provided. All scores were rounded to the nearest whole number. After individual sources were evaluated based on the scoring criteria above, we determined final scores for each economy. If the economy had only one source, then the final score is identical to the individual source evaluation. If the economy has multiple sources, then the composite score reflects the maximum score available for that economy.
There were limitations in the research methodology. When sources were available only in their local language, we relied on online translations services. This may have led to misinterpretation during data collection, and a potential for language bias to those published in English. Some economies also prevented overseas IPs from accessing the data. We circumvented this by using VPNs where necessary. This methodology is intended to be exhaustive, but there is always the possibility that something has been missed. Readers are encouraged to submit unlisted datasets to data@ember-climate.org or datacooperative@subak.org.
Chapter 2 | Research findings
Assessment on Power Sector Data Transparency in Asia
Analysis on the distribution of data transparency scores in Asia across six rating criteria reveals that there is not enough data to enable coal-to-clean electricity transition in the region.
- The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, PUCSL, was the only discoverable dataset for Sri Lanka. Through a general information page, they have dispatch and generation reports in pdf format with only a few days time lag. They have the follow characteristics:
- 15-minute plant-level generation data with an archive back to May, 2020.
- Strong level of fuel breakdown, including coal and other fossil fuels, as well as hydro, wind, solar, and biofuels.
- There is no additional data, including no capacity data.
Chapter 3 | Pioneers of data transparency
Economies demonstrating good practice
This section sets out to understand open data practices in economies that had excellent scores. New Zealand, Australia, and India had excellent scores on data transparency, with many others economies scoring excellent on one or two criteria. There are lessons to be learned from them, so to inspire what good data transparency practice can look like for such a diverse region.
Reflecting on the case study, we propose a few low-barrier recommendations from the Open Data Policy Guidelines published by the Open Data Policy Hub (ODPH) as a solution to achieve better data transparency in Asia. We have selected recommendations that can be implemented without a large technical overhead, so that they can be implemented without financial or technical hurdles.
ODPH suggests that 1) data formats should allow for maximal technical access; and 2) providers should publish data in comprehensive and appropriate formats for varied uses. This need is apparent in the Vasudha Foundation’s reporting that pdf or scanned image formats were a barrier to collecting data because they are not machine-readable. Pdf and html documents may be fit for the purpose of delivering analytic content, but are not suitable for sharing data. Therefore, original data tables should be attached in machine-readable formats, including xlsx, csv or json. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) demonstrates good practice. It provides their quarterly energy dynamics report as a pdf but has an xlsx workbook to support this which contains all the data in the report.
Additional ease of access recommendations include 3) removing restrictions for accessing information. Various sources identified had access limitations such as geography or sector. The goal of open data should be to provide non-discriminatory, free access at any time without restriction or justification for doing so. This also extends to the licence, as data should be 4) explicitly licence free or adopt an open data licence. This maximises the usability of the dataset, and allows multiple users to build off of the data such as anyone using Vasudha’s data. Once made open, the data provider should ensure, 5) permanent, lasting access to the data.
Lack of unique identifiers was one of the main challenges that the Vasudha team faced, as well as the 13 interviewees of Subak’s power plants data research initiative. Unique identifiers provide consistencies when collecting and reporting data for individual power plants and units. The 6) use of unique identifiers is essential for the interoperability of energy data and one of the most pressing challenges for the energy data landscape. Additionally, where established, these identifiers should be non-proprietary and public.
7) Central locations devoted to data publication and policies are essential. Some economies have put efforts to create a one-stop-shop, including India, Australia and New Zealand. However, in many economies, data providers for power are scattered. 8) Digitisation and distribution of archival materials is also essential for these central locations. In many economies, historical power data may need to be digitised. Often, old historical data are archived separately, which makes historical analysis difficult. Azerbaijan demonstrated good practice, whose State Statistical Committee published data from 1913. This further illustrates the need to 9) publish bulk data to enable easy access to all information.
Conclusion and Further Recommendations
Power sector decarbonisation depends on data transparency
Data transparency is limited in Asia, holding back the speed at which Asian economies can decarbonise their power sector.
Asia is a key region for global decarbonisation, as it is home to 80% of the global coal consumption. Open and easily accessible power sector data is necessary to enable Asian economies to decarbonise fast, as data enables tracking and monitoring of clean power targets, evidence-based policymaking and grid optimisation for better flexibility.
This research identified, compiled and evaluated official power sector data sources for 39 Asian economies using power generation as the baseline metric for assessment. The assessments were made using six rating criteria: publishing lag, geographical granularity, fuel breakdown, temporal granularity, additional data and ease of access.
The research revealed that more than half (24 out of 39) of Asian economies have insufficient or poor data transparency. This means that there is little to no data on whether electricity needs of 684 million people are being met with clean or fossil fuels. Nine economies have acceptable scores, and six economies have scored “good” or “excellent”. Higher income economies generally scored higher than lower income ones. However, some lower-middle income economies like India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka scored higher than other upper middle income economies, leading the way to better data transparency in Asia.
Ideally, power sector data must be provided at hourly or less intervals, with granular geographical and source fuel information. In addition, the data must be made available as soon as after it is generated and made free to access without restriction in a machine-readable format. Both Australia, New Zealand, India and several other economies are demonstrating good practice across the six rating criteria.
This report includes a special case study on India, which has made a significant effort to streamline their open data practice by collaborating with Vasudha Foundation, a non-profit organisation. Their partnership aimed to streamline their data sharing practice by creating a one-stop-shop dashboard revealed that standardisation of metrics, data format, methodology, granularity and nomenclatures is necessary to improve data transparency. Reflecting on the case study and guidelines from the Open Data Policy Hub, the study gives nine practical recommendations for improving data transparency, including:
- Removing all forms of restrictions on access and making data licence-free;
- Use of comprehensive and appropriate formats for data sharing for varied uses;
- Making data available in one central location in machine-readable formats;
- Digitising archival materials and publishing them as bulk data that has permanent, lasting access;
- Using unique identifiers to avoid erroneous interpretation.
National governments have an enormous amount of benefits to gain from making power sector data open and easily accessible, as it is key to accelerating power sector decarbonisation in each economy. Data can engage a broader network of stakeholders to create innovative solutions for coal-to-clean electricity transition. Work is required to enhance data governance and technical capacity to make this happen.
Findings in this report are made publicly available on Subak and Ember’s website for anyone to use to improve visibility on where power data is in Asia.
Supporting Materials - Appendix
Economy Profiles
- Azerbaijan had only one discoverable dataset, provided by the State Statistical Committee of the Republic Azerbaijan, SSCRA. It provides multiple separate datasets underneath the ‘Energy’ category. In particular these are ‘production of electricity’, and ‘plant capacity’. Both are provided as xlsx files with following characteristics:
- National, yearly generation data back to 1913.
- Only high level thermal breakdown, and hydro, wind, solar, and biofuel generation.
- Additional capacity, demand, consumption by sector and net imports data.
Supporting Material
Downloads
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Vasudha Foundation’s Senior Advisor Vrinda Gupta, Senior Manager Raghav Pachouri, and Manager Rahul Patidar who participated in an interview with Ember and Subak.
ContributorsYe Yuan, Will Andrews Tipper, Aditya Lolla, Sam Hawkins, Jake Verma, Rini Sucahyo
Header imagePower lines against a city road in the Philippines
Credit: Davidovich Mikhail / Alamy Stock Photo