Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The Quarterly Fuels Inquiry (QFI) is a quarterly survey among a panel of manufacturing plants. The survey is managed by ONS on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Using this it is possible to calculate sectorial energy prices which are reported in publications such as Quarterly Energy Prices. This is the first external research study which had access to this data at micro level. It spans a period from 1993 to 2015. The inquiry is statutory, being conducted under Section 1 of the Statistics of Trade Act 1947. The aim of the inquiry is to collect data on the prices paid by small, medium and large industrial fuel consumers. The data by consumption band, available through QFI, are the only data of their kind available for the UK energy market. As such it allows cost comparisons to be made between various fuel types and between large and small users. These data are important in determining whether price movements for large and small users have been comparable and therefore providing data to examine any possible price discrimination in the fuel products. QFI data are widely used both within government and industry and are considered a vital source of data. The survey is used by officials and ministers to monitor trends in industrial prices, particularly for gas and electricity, and by companies as price escalators in fuel purchasing contracts. Linking to other business studies These data contain Inter-Departmental Business Register reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research.Latest edition informationFor the fourth edition (May 2024), a new data file covering the period quarter 1 2015 to quarter 3 2023 was added to the study. A data dictionary covering the same time period was also added, along with the latest version of the Industrial Price Statistics - Data Sources and Methodologies documentation file.
Main Topics:
Respondents to QFI are asked to provide the volume and value of fuel purchased in the preceding quarter. Data are collected on: coal, coke, medium fuel oil, heavy fuel oil, gas oil, liquefied petroleum gas, electricity and firm and interruptible gas, although not all respondents use all these fuels. The data are then used to calculate a unit cost for each fuel used by size of user (for the more common used fuels) and an overall average.
One stage stratified non-random sample
Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)
Postal survey
