Collect energy data with units that survive the reporting handover

Keep the original quantity and unit from each source record, then show any conversion in a separate field. Before adding values, confirm what was measured, which operation and dates it covers, and whether another record already includes the same energy.

This guide is for facilities, plant, finance and reporting teams preparing energy inputs. It focuses on physical energy quantities. Converting kilowatt-hours to gigajoules does not calculate greenhouse-gas emissions or establish renewable-energy classification.

Record the quantity before standardising the unit

For each meter, fuel or purchased-energy source, retain:

• Entity, site and source identifier

• Consumption start and end dates

• Original value and the unit exactly as shown

• Record reference and relevant line, page or meter field

• Quantity type: electricity consumed, fuel consumed, purchased heat or another defined input

• Converted value, target unit, conversion basis and source

• Overlap, allocation, estimation and review notes

If a bill says only “units”, confirm the meaning from the bill or supplier documentation. Do not substitute invoice value, connected load or maximum demand for energy consumption. A bill date also does not necessarily identify the consumption period.

Use exact energy conversions carefully

The following relationships are derived from the watt, second and SI prefixes:

• 1 kWh = 3.6 MJ = 0.0036 GJ

• 1 MWh = 1,000 kWh = 3.6 GJ

• 1 GJ = 1,000 MJ

A watt is a unit of power; an hour supplies the time dimension in a watt-hour. Preserve capitalisation: MJ and mJ have different meanings. Source: BIPM SI Brochure, ninth edition, version 4.01, tables 4, 7 and 8. These are unit relationships, not emission factors. The brochure is published under CC BY 4.0; the explanation and examples here are Nitium's own.

Litres or tonnes of fuel are not energy units. To express fuel consumption as energy, use the appropriate documented calorific-value basis and any required density conversion. Match the fuel, units and measurement basis; do not mix a mass-based factor with a volume quantity. Record whether the method uses net or gross calorific value instead of treating them as interchangeable. Technical reference: IPCC 2006 Guidelines, volume 2, section 1.4.1.2. That national-inventory reference explains the conversion issue; it does not by itself select the reporting method for your company.

Keep electricity supply and conversion flows separate

Identify grid imports, other purchased electricity, on-site generation, exports and transfers. Record the evidence needed for renewable/non-renewable classification separately from the quantity conversion. One utility connection can contain more than one supply component.

When fuel is used to generate electricity that the organisation then consumes, avoid counting that same energy twice in the consumption total. The BRSR guidance explicitly addresses this. Source: SEBI master circular, Annexure 17, Principle 6 energy guidance; see also Annexure 17A, energy footprint.

A hypothetical mixed-energy schedule

Fictional teaching example, not a Nitium client case. A site has three energy inputs for the same period and boundary, with no exports or transfers:

• Purchased electricity: 100,000 kWh × 0.0036 = 360 GJ

• Purchased steam: 20 GJ, already recorded on an agreed energy basis

• Diesel consumed in its generator: 1,000 litres × an invented teaching value of 36 MJ/litre ÷ 1,000 = 36 GJ

Using fuel input for the generator, the energy-input total is 360 + 20 + 36 = 416 GJ. The generator's own electricity output of 3,000 kWh is tracked for operating analysis but is not added again to this total. Adding its 10.8 GJ equivalent would duplicate energy already counted through the generator fuel.

The 36 MJ/litre value is invented for arithmetic and must not be used as a real fuel factor. A real schedule needs an appropriate documented value, reliable consumption records, classification checks and the applicable reporting method. The example does not calculate emissions.

Check units at the point of handover

• Can the reviewer see both original and converted values?

• Does each conversion start with the same unit as its source?

• Are power, energy, mass, volume and currency kept distinct?

• Are decimal prefixes and case preserved?

• Are shared meters and internally generated energy checked for duplication?

• Are fuel properties and classification evidence documented?

• Are missing data visible rather than converted into zero?

Our carbon inventory checklist explains the next stage of activity and factor preparation. Nitium's BRSR reporting support can help organise reporting inputs and gaps. Discuss an energy-data preparation task or email contact@nitium.in with the source types and unit questions.

Sources checked 5 October 2026. This workflow is not a complete energy-accounting method, emissions inventory, technical measurement validation or compliance conclusion.