EIA Form 860 – Annual Electric Generator Report#
Source URL |
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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 |
230 MB |
Temporal Coverage |
2001-2022 |
PUDL Code |
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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.
We’ve also created the following entity tables modeled after EIA data collected from multiple tables.
Data Dictionary |
Browse Online |
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Background#
The Form EIA-860 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)
Download the following files for further context:
How much of the data is accessible through PUDL?#
EIA-860 data goes back to 2001, and PUDL incorporates most of the data from all those years. From 2001-2003 the data was distributed as VisualFoxPro DBF files. Starting in 2004 the data is distributed as Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
Earlier data from the EIA-860A (utility) and EIA-860B (non-utility) forms exists for the years 1990-2000, but is not yet included in PUDL.
PUDL does not yet include the EIA-860 data reporting:
Wind and Solar generators (Schedules 3.2 and 3.3)
Energy storage (Schedule 3.4)
Multi-fuel generators (Schedule 3.5)
Environmental Control Equipment (Schedule 6) has been partially incorporated.
Who is required to fill out the form?#
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?#
EIA typically publishes finally Form 860 data in the fall of the year after it was collected 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#
The PUDL transformation process cleans the input data so that it is adjusted for uniformity, corrected for errors, and ready for bulk programmatic use.
To see the transformations applied to the data in each table, you can read the
doc-strings for pudl.transform.eia860 created for each tables’ respective
transform function.