The physical energy flow accounts for South Africa are created from a wide range of data sources. The accounts are based on an internationally agreed accounting framework that records the movement of energy from the environment to the economy (i.e. natural inputs), within the economy (i.e. energy products) and from the economy back into the environment (i.e. residuals). These flows include several activities, such as the extraction, transformation, distribution and consumption of energy. Physical energy flow accounts provide valuable insight into how energy contributes to economic activity, and can aid better understanding into how energy generation and use might impact the environment.<\/p>\n
Energy flows in our economy<\/strong><\/p>\n The graphic below provides a summary of the physical energy flow accounts for the South African economy in 2021.1<\/sup> On the left (supply) side, energy products are either sourced from imports, from local industries (i.e. mining, manufacturing, electricity and agriculture) or from accumulation. These products are made available in several different forms (e.g. coal, oil & oil products and electricity). On the right (use) side, energy products are either exported; transformed or consumed by local industries to produce goods and services; used by households; or stored in accumulation for later use.<\/p>\n Three key characteristics stand out.<\/p>\n Exploring the time series<\/strong><\/p>\n Tracking the energy data over time provides insight into how these energy flows have changed, and how total contributions to total energy product demand and supply have shifted. For example, electricity supply showed a declining trend from 2015 to 2021 due to the severe constraints experienced in the generation of electricity. Nuclear fuels, for example, accounted for 1,8% of the total domestic supply of energy products in 2015, rising to 2,3% in 2021.<\/p>\n For more information, download the Physical Energy Flow Accounts for South Africa, 2015 to 2021<\/em> report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is the sixth discussion document published by Stats SA in the Natural Capital series. The other discussion documents available in the series include:<\/p>\n 1 <\/sup>The physical energy flow account provides additional detail not included in the graphic, such as inputs of energy from natural resources and renewable sources, residual flows and losses. See Tables 22 and 23 in the report for more detail.<\/p>\n 2 <\/sup>General Household Survey (GHS)<\/em>, 2023. Figure 11.5 (download here<\/a>).<\/p>\n Similar articles are available on the Stats SA website and can be accessed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For a monthly overview of economic indicators and infographics, catch the latest edition of the Stats Biz newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Discovering the pathways that energy takes through the economy is the aim of the latest set of physical energy flow accounts. The accounts, published in a recent discussion document in the Stats SA Natural Capital series, cover the period 2015 to 2021 and provide a detailed overview of the flow of energy from its source read more »<\/a><\/p>\n![\"pic1\"](\"https:\/\/www.statssa.gov.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/pic1-1.jpg\")
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