Improved statistical consistency: The effect of data revisions on the energy use gap between China and its provinces

National energy consumption data are typically adjusted upward and provincial revision downward based on the Third Economic Census, thus substantially reducing energy statistical discrepancy between China and its provinces. Examining revision effects can facilitate better understanding whether and how the revision process eliminated the fundamental roots of the discrepancy. Through multiple index decomposition methods, this study traced the overall discrepancy to raw coal consumption by energy source, coal washing by transforming process and industrial consumption by economic sector. The reduction of the discrepancy was primarily based on improvements in the data consistency for raw coal, including the input by coal washing and industrial raw coal consumption. At provincial level, unexpected operations were detected during benchmark revisions, particularly inner-provincial inconsistency and inter-provincial incoordination. We conclude that the data discrepancy was institutionally rooted and cannot be solved by benchmark revision alone. Shifting the statistical system from a hierarchical regime to a more centralized one, which would allow greater coordination during energy data accounting and revisions, can help resolve this issue fundamentally.