EIA Form 860 – Annual Electric Generator Report

Source URL

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia860

Source Description

US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form 860 data for electric power plants with 1 megawatt or greater combined nameplate capacity.

Respondents

Utilities

Records Liberated

~1 million

Source Format

Microsoft Excel (.xls/.xlsx)

Download Size

251 MB

Temporal Coverage

2001-2023

PUDL Code

eia860

Issues

Open EIA Form 860 – Annual Electric Generator Report issues

PUDL Database Tables

We’ve segmented the processed data into the following normalized data tables. Clicking on the links will show you a description of the table as well as the names and descriptions of each of its fields.

Data Dictionary

Browse Online

_core_eia860__cooling_equipment

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/_core_eia860__cooling_equipment

_core_eia860__fgd_equipment

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/_core_eia860__fgd_equipment

core_eia860__assn_boiler_cooling

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__assn_boiler_cooling

core_eia860__assn_boiler_generator

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__assn_boiler_generator

core_eia860__assn_boiler_stack_flue

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__assn_boiler_stack_flue

core_eia860__assn_yearly_boiler_emissions_control_equipment

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__assn_yearly_boiler_emissions_control_equipment

core_eia860__scd_boilers

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_boilers

core_eia860__scd_emissions_control_equipment

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_emissions_control_equipment

core_eia860__scd_generators

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_generators

core_eia860__scd_generators_energy_storage

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_generators_energy_storage

core_eia860__scd_generators_multifuel

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_generators_multifuel

core_eia860__scd_generators_solar

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_generators_solar

core_eia860__scd_generators_wind

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_generators_wind

core_eia860__scd_ownership

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_ownership

core_eia860__scd_plants

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_plants

core_eia860__scd_utilities

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860__scd_utilities

core_eia860m__changelog_generators

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/core_eia860m__changelog_generators

out_eia860__yearly_emissions_control_equipment

https://data.catalyst.coop/pudl/out_eia860__yearly_emissions_control_equipment

We’ve also created the following entity tables modeled after EIA data collected from multiple tables.

Background

EIA-860 is an annual form that collects utility, owner, plant, and generator-level data from existing and planned entities with one or more megawatt of capacity. The form also contains information regarding environmental control equipment and construction cost data from 2013-2018.

As of 2023, the EIA-860 Form is organized into the following schedules:

  • Schedule 1: Identification

  • Schedule 2: Power plant data

  • Schedule 3: Generator information

  • Schedule 4: Ownership of generators

  • Schedule 6: Information on Boilers and Associated Equipment

(Schedule 5 contained generator construction cost information and was discontinued in 2018)

There is also a monthly survey known as the Monthly Update to Annual Electric Generator Report (EIA860M) that provides sub-annual updates to generator stats. The capacity values reported in 860M are often retroactively fixed and are not considered as reliable as those in the annual form.

Download additional documentation

Data available through PUDL

PUDL incorporates almost all EIA-860 data dating back to it’s first publication in 2001. Earlier data from the forms EIA-860A (utility) and EIA-860B (non-utility) exists for the years 1990-2000, but is not yet included in PUDL.

Each quarter, PUDL also combines data from the most recent EIA-860M filing with relevant EIA-860 tables. These records are marked with the monthly_update tag in the data_maturity field.

Who submits this data?

Respondents include all existing and proposed plants that have a total generator nameplate capacity (sum for generators at a single site) of 1 Megawatt (MW) or greater and are connected to the local or regional electric power grid. Annual responses are due between the beginning of January and the end of February.

Jointly owned plants must be reported only once by their operator or planned operator.

What does the original data look like?

From 2001-2003 the data was distributed as VisualFoxPro DBF files. Starting in 2004 the data is distributed as Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

EIA typically publishes 860 data from the prior year in two rounds: an early release in the summer and a final release in the fall. The data are published on the EIA website and distributed as a collection of spreadsheets with multiple tabs. The content of the spreadsheets varies from year to year as the questions in the form are updated. EIA also periodically changes the naming and structure of the spreadsheets without warning. Older “final” data may also be revised several years after it was published. To ensure reproducible analyses, we archive versioned snapshots of the EIA-860 data on Zenodo. These archives are periodically refreshed with new data from the EIA website.

To understand the details of how the form and data have evolved over time, we recommend reading the Form Instructions from different years, linked above.

Notable Irregularities

  • Prior to 2009, the Generators table was split into two spreadsheets: one for operating and one for proposed generation.

  • In 2007 and before, there was an additional file for proposed changes to existing generation. The latter is excluded from PUDL while the former is combined into a single table during the transformation process.

  • The Boiler Generator tab of Schedule 6.1 describes the associations between boilers and generators. These associations are important for calculating generation unit heat rates and thus fuel costs, because in EIA 923 net generation is reported by generators and fuel consumption is reported by boilers.

Unfortunately, the reported associations are incomplete. We’ve been able to infer many more associations than those reported directly by EIA, and currently cover more than 95% of the generation reported in the core_eia923__monthly_generation table. The associations themselves are found in the core_eia860__assn_boiler_generator table.

PUDL Data Transformations

To see the transformations applied to the data in each table, you can read the docstrings for pudl.transform.eia860 created for each table’s respective transform function.