Bangladesh is one of the top six economies that scored “good” or “excellent” in demonstrating good practices of data transparency in Asia.
The other top countries are India, New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, and South Korea.
More than half of 39 economies in Asia have “poor” or “insufficient” power data, which are home to 684 million people.
The three lower-middle-income economies like India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have even scored higher than any other upper-middle-income economies like China and Japan.
This finding is from a new joint report by global energy think tank, Ember and climate impact multiplier, Subak.
The authors argue that the top countries are demonstrating good practices that can be replicated elsewhere.
The researchers conclude that poor data transparency is holding back the speed of the clean power transition in Asia, home to 80% of global coal generation.
This report is the first-in-kind report that presents a comprehensive regional picture of the availability of power sector data in Asia, including the Asia Pacific and Central Asia.
The research identified 74 official data sources across the region, which is a significant improvement since the first Asia Data Transparency Report 2020, led by Ember.
The report found 75% of economies do not make data available in a timely manner.
Among them, 14 countries had a time lag of more than a year. Only five economies made data available within a week (India, Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and Georgia).
Meanwhile, Bangladesh provides daily generation data for each power plant and provides various metrics for the electricity market, including outages and day-ahead schedules through the central utility.
Ideally, power data needs to be published at a minimum of hourly intervals for optimal power market operation and analysis. Bangladesh is also one of the countries that are sharing data at hourly or fewer intervals.
Ember's Asia Data Analyst, Uni Lee, said: “Three lower-middle income countries - India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh - scored higher than any other upper-middle-income countries. They are showing that it is possible to improve data transparency and encourage others to follow suit.”
Subak's Data Cooperative Associate Justine White, said: “Data is essential for climate professionals to monitor, track and set clean power targets, as well as to develop innovative technologies for better grid flexibility and engage in evidence-based policymaking.”
Not enough data to enable Asia's coal-to-clean transition
Asia accounts for 62% of global power sector emissions. As its electricity demand is rising twice as fast as the rest of the world, decarbonizing the power sector in the region is of crucial importance for limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Yet, finding high-quality and consistent power sector data to track the growth is challenging, the report finds.
The report emphasizes the need to make power sector data open and freely accessible across the region, as it plays a pivotal role in decarbonizing the power sector.
In recent years, countries such as India have stepped up efforts to spur transparency by launching data governance initiatives and partnering with the private sector.
Further, the authors emphasized that governments and intergovernmental organizations will gain monumental benefits from emissions reduction and power sector innovation by improving data transparency, unleashing the full potential of Asia's clean energy transition.
Ember's Asia Data Analyst, Uni Lee, said: “Data transparency enables various stakeholders in the society to participate in building pathways to decarbonize 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.”