Form EIA-861, Annual Electric Power Industry Report, and Form EIA-861S (the shortform) collect data from distribution utilities and power marketers of electricity. This survey is a census of all United States electric utilities. The short form is intended for smaller bundled-service utilities and has less detailed responses. This survey collects more data than the monthly counterpart, Form EIA-861M. Data are the individual surveys responses and are included in the files described below.
Our survey page contains the current survey form, instructions, respondent portal, and frequently asked questions. Data from these files can be found throughout our publications, usually in aggregated form in our Electric Power Annual (EPA) report; State Electricity Profiles (SEP); Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price (ESR) report; Electricity Data Browser; and in some Today in Energy articles.
Please refer to our Guide to EIA Electric Power Data and send any questions to InfoElectric@eia.gov.
In 2012, we created Form EIA-861S to reduce respondent burden and to increase our processing efficiency; that year, about 1,100 utilities initially reported on this form instead of Form EIA-861. In 2020, the number of utilities increased to about 1,700 utilities. We reformatted the files for the years 1990–2011, but we didn’t change or update any data files. We reformatted the files to make them easier to understand and to match the format and titles of the current files.
- Frame
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- Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
- Time frame: 2016 to present
- Description: The data contain a complete list of all respondents from both forms and which files they have data in.
- Advanced Metering
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- Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
- Time frame: 2007 to present
- Description: The data contain number of meters from automated meter readings (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) by state, sector, and balancing authority. The energy served (in megawatthours) for AMI systems is provided. Form EIA-861 respondents also report the number of standard meters (non AMR/AMI) in their system.
- Historical Changes: We started collecting the number of standard meters in 2013. The monthly survey collected these data from January 2011 to January 2017.
- Balancing Authority
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- Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861
- Time frame: 2012 to present
- Description: The data contain the list of balancing authorities and the states they operate in.
- Delivery Companies
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- Time frame: 2020 to present
- Description: The data contain revenue, sales, and customer count by sector from utilities that deliver energy in Texas.
- Demand Response
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- Time frame: 2013 to present
- Description: The data contain energy demand response programs by state, sector, and balancing authority. We collect data for the number of customers enrolled, energy savings, potential and actual peak savings, and associated costs.
- Distribution Systems
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- Time frame: 2013 to present
- Description: The data contain the number of distribution circuits and circuits with voltage optimization by state.
- Dynamic Pricing
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- Time frame: 2013 to present
- Description: The data contain the number of customers enrolled in dynamic pricing programs by state, sector, and balancing authority. Respondents check if one or more customers are enrolled in time-of-use pricing, real time pricing, variable peak pricing, critical peak pricing, and critical peak rebates.
- Energy Efficiency
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- Time frame: 2013 to present
- Description: The data contain incremental energy savings, peak demand savings, weighted average life cycle, and associated costs for the reporting year and life cycle of energy efficiency programs.
- Mergers
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- Time frame: 2007 to present
- Description: The data contain information on mergers and acquisitions.
- Net Metering
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- Time frame: 2001 to present
- Description: The data contain cumulative installation count and capacity of generators that are net metered by technology, state, sector, and balancing authority. If available, the energy sold back to the grid is also reported. Technology types include photovoltaic (standard, virtual less than 1 megawatt, and virtual 1 megawatt or greater), wind, and other. Storage systems that are paired with net-metered photovoltaic (PV) are also captured. We make a state-level adjustment for missing PV capacity and to convert state total capacity to AC units for those respondents who report data in DC units; we use 0.8256 as a conversion factor to change DC to AC. For other energy sources, we have not established imputation procedures.
- Historical Changes: Initially, data contained only the customer count. In 2007, energy displaced was added (later renamed to energy sold back). We added capacity of systems in 2010, and we divided this category by technology type: PV, wind, and other. In 2016, we added a question to the survey about whether the megawatts reported for the PV systems were in AC or DC units). Also in 2016, the survey divided PV to include virtual systems and storage systems paired with PV. Starting in 2020, Form EIA-861S respondents were imputed.
- Non-Net Metering Distributed
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- Time frame: 2010 to present
- Description: The data contain cumulative values of generators that are not net metered and are under 1 megawatt in size (and not reported on Form EIA-860). Installations, total capacity, capacity owned, and capacity backup are reported in aggregate by state, sector, and balancing authority. Capacity is also reported by technology, state, sector, and balancing authority. Technology types include combustion turbine, internal combustion engine, fuel cells, hydroelectric, photovoltaic (PV), steam turbine, storage, wind, and other. Form EIA-861S respondents do not provide non-net-metering distributed data. A state-level adjustment is made for missing PV capacity and to convert state total capacity to AC units for those respondents who report data in DC units; we use 0.8256 as a conversion factor to change DC to AC, which uses the responses from the net-metering schedule. For other energy sources, we have not established imputation procedures.
- Historical Changes: This schedule was referred to as distributed generation, and we renamed it to prevent double counting from net-metered systems (2016). Data on dispersed systems (systems not connected to the grid) were collected up to 2015. In 2016, we added data on fuel cells. Starting in 2016, these data were broken out by sector, and an adjustment to convert state total capacity to AC units for those respondents who report data in DC units; we use 0.8256 as a conversion factor to change DC to AC. Starting in 2020, Form EIA-861S respondents were estimated.
- Operational Data
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- Time frame: 1990 to present
- Description: The data contain aggregate operational data for the source and disposition of energy and revenue information from each electric utility.
- Reliability
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- Time frame: 2013 to present
- Description:The data contain information on non-momentary electrical interruptions. If collected, utilities report the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI), the system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI), and the conditions under which these metrics are collected. We allow respondents to use IEEE standards or any other method. We created a short video to describe what is collected.
- Sales to Ultimate Customers
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- Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
- Time frame: 1990 to present
- Description: The data contain revenue, sales (in megawatthours), and customer count of electricity delivered to end-use customers by state, sector, and balancing authority. A state, service type, and balancing authority-level adjustment is made for non-respondents and for customer-sited respondents.
- Historical Changes: In 2003, we created the transportation sector and removed the other sector. We made this change to separate the transportation sales and reassign the other activities to the commercial and industrial sectors as appropriate. Non-transportation customers previously reported under other, including street and highway lighting, are now included in the commercial sector. Previously, we referred to this file as retail sales.
- Sales to Ultimate Customers, Customer-Sited
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- Time frame: 2002 to present
- Description: The data contain revenue, sales (in megawatthours), and customer count of electricity delivered to end-use customers by state, sector, and balancing authority. These data aren’t collected on Form EIA-861; however, they are included in the state adjustments totals in the sales to ultimate customers file.
- Service Territory
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- Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
- Time frame: 2001 to present
- Description: The data contain names of counties and states in which the utility has equipment to distribute electricity to ultimate customers.
- Short Form
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- Surveys: Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S
- Time frame: 2001 to present
- Description: The data contain revenue, sales (in megawatthours), and customer count of electricity delivered to end-use customers, by state and balancing authority. Respondents answer whether they have net metering, demand side management, and time-based programs.
- Utility Data
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- Time frame: 1990 to present
- Description:The data contain information on a utility’s North American Electric Reliability (NERC) regions of operation. The data also indicate a utility’s independent system operator (ISO) or regional transmission organization (RTO) and whether that utility is engaged in any of the following activities: generation, transmission, buying transmission, distribution, buying distribution, wholesale marketing, retail marketing, bundled service, or operating alternative-fueled vehicles.
- Historical Changes: In 2010, we added the independent system operator (ISO) and regional transmission organization (RTO) regions.
- Demand-Side Management (DSM)
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- Description: The data contain energy efficiency incremental data, energy efficiency annual data, load management incremental data, load management annual data, annual costs, and the customer counts of price response and time response programs by sector.
- Historical Changes: In 2007, we added the customer counts of price response and time response programs.
- Green Pricing
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- Description: The data contain revenue, sales, and customer count by sector and state.
- Historical Changes: Initially, data contained only the customer count. In 2007, revenue and sales were added.