FAQs for Survey Forms EIA-861

Used in conjunction with the survey form instructions, these FAQs answer more specific questions about the EIA-861 form. If you have questions after reviewing the instructions and these FAQs, contact an EIA staff member for more information.

General questions

Is this data available publicly? What purpose does this information serve?

The annual data back to 1990 are publicly available on the EIA-861 webpage that is updated at the end of each year’s cycle. These data can then be used by Congress and other agencies as well as private organizations and citizens for analysis.

What is the difference between Form EIA-861 and Form EIA-861S?

Form EIA-861S is a shorter version of Form EIA-861. Form EIA-861S is available for certain utilities in seven out of every eight years. Utilities report on Form EIA-861S if they

• Report less than only 200,000 megawatthours on the last previous Form EIA-861
• Provide only bundled service (generation and distribution)
• Are not needed to ensure acceptable quality of statistical estimates
• Are not part of the aggregate of TVA or WPPI
• Do not report on Form EIA-861M

Accessing the survey online

I forgot my username and password. How can I retrieve it?

If you are the registered Preparer and have forgotten your User ID, go to the EIA Single Sign On (SSO) Login screen and click the 'Forgot your Userid?' link at the bottom. Your ID will be emailed to you once you enter your last name and email address. If that doesn't work, either you're not the registered Preparer, or the email address we have on file for you is different. In that case, contact an EIA staff member for help

If you have your User ID but forgot your password, go to the login screen and enter your User ID, then click the 'Forgot your password?' link. To reset your password, answer your previously established security question. Survey staff are unable to see or retrieve your password.

I can't access the form. Got any tips?

Try these suggestions. If these don't work, see more software tips below.

• Log-in problems usually are the result of entering an incorrect User ID. Try the 'Forgot your Userid' link and make sure you are using what we have on record.
• Make sure you use Internet Explorer or Safari as your web browser.
• Make sure that you use the latest version of Java Client software. To determine if you need an updated version of Java, follow the link above and click on the "Do I have Java?" link. Once your version is determined, you can see if you need an update. You can also check the Java help index.
• If you have a pop-up blocker activated, turn it off.
• Try logging on using another computer; the computer that worked last year might not work this year.

When trying to log in to the EIA SSO website, what do I do if I receive one of the following errors:

• A blank web page (IE)
• A message saying “Your connection to the server was interrupted” before the log-in screen
• A message saying “An Add-on for this website failed to run. Check the security settings in the Internet Option for potential conflicts”
• A message saying “Java add-on required to display some elements of this page”

If you get one of these errors, you need to install the latest version of Java. You must have administrative privileges on your PC. You may need to uninstall an older version of Java before installing the new version.

How do I determine if I have Java, and how do I know which version I have?

Start Button → Settings → Control Panel → Java → About

How do I see if I have ADMIN rights to install Java?

Start Button → Settings → Control Panel → Add or Remove Program

What if I need to have an old version of Java for other purposes?

Start Button → Settings → Control Panel → Java icon → Java tab → View →Check ‘Enabled’ box for all required versions → Click OK to complete

I have the correct version of Java and I’m still getting a blank screen.

This is most likely a firewall issue. Contact your IT staff and ask them to allow connection to the EIA site by ensuring that ports 80 and 443 are open

I have the correct version of Java and I’m getting the message, “On Oracle.Forms.Engine.Main Error” or “Plugin Not Found.”

This may be a Proxy Server issue. If you are accessing the internet through a Proxy Server, contact your IT staff. The proxy server might not be handling the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) session fully. It may only be changing the address in the network part of the packet, then passing the data packet along (with the embedded IP address unchanged). If this is true, the following steps may provide a solution:

• Have your IT staff assign a fixed address and then make sure they do not NAT this address at the firewall. Even though they are running DHCP, it is still possible to always give a particular address to a user or Web server, etc.
• Another solution, although not as easily implemented, is to establish the SSL session with the proxy server and then have the proxy server establish a session with your IT staff, who would need to move the certificates on your machine to the proxy server.

You might also have a Java configuration issue. Follow these steps if your computer is running Java Version 7:
Start Button → Settings → Control Panel → Java → Advanced Tab → Advanced Security Settings → Check the box next to TLS 1.0

If your computer is running Java Version 8, follow these steps:

Start Button → Settings → Control Panel → Java → Advanced Tab → Advanced Security Settings → Check the box next to SSL 2.0 compatible ClientHello forma

I am unable to print the survey form. What do I do?

The report server may be down for maintenance. Wait a few minutes and retry. Also, be sure you have Acrobat Reader 7 or better installed on your PC. If it still will not print, most often the problem is caused by a pop-up blocker. To temporarily override this, hold down the Control (CTRL) button on your keyboard while pressing the Print button on the screen. Be sure to hold down the CTRL button for about five seconds after you press print. If this does not work, send an email to EIA survey staff requesting a PDF copy of your form. Make sure to reference the legal entity name and/or the utility ID number found on Schedule 1 of the survey.

Schedule 1

The person filling out the form has changed this year. Can they just use the old username and password?

For security purposes, if a new person is preparing the form they must register with EIA's Single Sign-On system (SS0) and create their own username and password. To do this, send an email to survey staff with "New Preparer" in the subject line. Make sure to provide the new Preparer's complete contact profile including full name, email address, phone number, job title, work address, and fax number (if applicable). Once added, we will send the new Preparer instructions on how to register for EIA's data collection system.

Some of my contact information has changed. How do I update that?

If your contact information (telephone, name, title, etc.) has changed, send an email to EIA survey staff with the updates. Please reference the entity name and/or utility ID number so we can locate your contact information in the system.

Why do you need my supervisor's contact information? What if I don't have a supervisor?

We need a secondary contact person in case we have questions and the primary contact person is unavailable. A supervisor contact is preferred, but if there is no supervisor, please provide information for someone else we can refer to with questions in the event we cannot reach the primary contact person.

What are respondent types, and what do they mean?

Respondent types relate to a category of respondent and are used to analyze the data.

A = Municipal Marketing Authority: Voted into existence by the residents of a municipality and given authority for creation by the state government. They are nonprofit organizations.

B = Behind the Meter Provider: Entities that install, own, and/or operate a system (usually photovoltaic), and sell, under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) or lease, all the production from the system to the homeowner or business that has a net metering agreement.
C = Cooperative: Member-owned organizations.
D = Nonutility DSM Administrator: Only involved with Demand-Side Management activities.
F = Federal: Government agencies with the authority to deliver energy to end-use customers.
G = Community Choice Aggregator: Public agency that aggregates end user’s electricity demand for a particular area and manages supply for those users.
I = Investor-owned Utilities: A privately owned entity that provides a public service.
M = Municipal: Entities that are organized under authority of state statute to provide a public service to residents of that area.
P = Political Subdivision (also called public utility district): Independent of city or county government and voted into existence by a majority of the residents of any given area for the specific purpose of providing utility service to the voters. State laws provide for the formation of such districts.
R = Power Marketer or Energy Service Provider: Entities that market power to customers in restructured markets.
S = State: Entities that own or operate facilities or provide a public service.
T = Transmission: Entities that provide bulk power services over high-voltage transmission wires.
W = Wholesale Power Marketer: Entities that buy and sell power in the wholesale market
Q = Independent Power Producer or Qualifying Facility: Entities that own power plants and sell their power into the wholesale market

Schedule 2A

I'm getting an edit error that the highest hourly electrical peak system demand is much different than the previous year, but I believe it's correct.

First, make sure you are reporting the summer and winter peaks in MW. 1 MW = 1,000 kW. The previous year's peaks are shown to the right for easy comparison. Summer includes May through October, and winter is November through April. The maximum hourly load for each season should be taken from the 60-minute period during which demand is the greatest.

Sometimes extreme weather events cause drastic fluctuations in the year-over-year peaks. If this is the case, explain in the override comments.

An error appeared in the log saying that my DSM peak demand savings are too high compared with the summer/winter peaks. How do I address this?

Explain in the override comments what sort of mechanism you have for controlling load, and what type of customers they are so EIA can understand how your setup works. Although the peak savings can sometimes have a potential greater than the summer or winter peak, the actual savings shouldn't be greater than either peak. See the Schedule 6B FAQ below for guidance on how to report the potential/actual peak savings.

If my cooperative doesn’t belong to an RTO or ISO, should I list none or select the RTO/ISO that serves where my service territory is located?

An organization should only report the RTO/ISOs if they are an active participant. If an organization does not belong to an RTO/ISO, none should be indicated.

Schedule 2B

I filled out each line item to the best of my knowledge, but I cannot proceed because line 10 (total sources) and line 16 (total disposition) do not match. What am I doing wrong?

EIA needs to know where the electricity comes from as well as where it goes. The lines need to match to ensure that all MWH's are accounted for. Line 15, Total Energy Losses, must be entered as a positive number and is often incorrect. This line item encompasses the electricity that has been lost from transmission, distribution, or is otherwise unaccounted for. Also, line 11 (Sales to Ultimate Customers) must equal the total sales reported on Schedules 4A, 4B, and 4D.

Schedule 3A

Where do I find information about circuits?

You only need to report on this schedule if you own distribution lines. If so, only report those circuits with a voltage of 35 kV or lower. This data can be gathered from the personnel who control the wires (distribution engineers, head linesman, etc.). This information does not change very often, so it will roll over to the following year's form, and you only need to check for accuracy.

How can you verify whether or not time clock controlled switched capacitors would meet the criteria for Voltage/VAR Optimization (VVO)?

If the time-controlled capacitors can respond in real-time to conditions on the grid, then we would characterize it as contributing to VVO. If they are simply switching based on a timer (without knowledge of grid conditions), then it should count as contributing to VVO.

Schedule 3B/3C

If I compute SAIDI/SAIFI data via both means described, do I report on schedule 3B or 3C?

The IEEE standard method is preferred, so report only on schedule 3B if you use both methods.

This is new to me; does EIA have guidance on how to calculate this data?

EIA has a video of how to calculate these figures: https://youtu.be/oVH9L0fCMTU

I am not IEEE compliant, and my software reports SAIDI values in hours. Does EIA have a preference?

EIA 861 survey asks for SAIDI values in minutes. If your system reports in hours, multiply the SAIDI values by 60 to convert to minutes.

The software I use asks for five years of historical data. How is historical information relevant in these calculations?

Your software program is probably using IEEE standards, which require a five-year history of outages to determine a Major Event Day. A program may also be using IEEE standards by reporting a TMED value. In either case, you should be reporting on Schedule 3B.

For IEEE, a major event is

SAIDI > T_MED = e^(α+2.5β)

where α = logarithmic average of daily outages
and β = logarithmic std. dev of 5 years data

I use APPA software. Do I report on Schedule 3B or 3C?

APPA (or any program that calculates your TMED value) uses IEEE standards. So report on Schedule 3B.

I use all outages and do not separate major events. How should I report that?

If you don’t remove any data, you should report values under “With Major Events” because this category includes everything.

We currently calculate the SAIDI including major event days, and we do not calculate a SAIDI excluding major event days or a SAIDI including major event days minus loss of supply. What should I enter for those categories?

Only provide the information that you calculate and can verify. For information you do not collect, leave the field blank on Schedules 3B or 3C.

Our distribution system did not have any major events last year. How should I report this?

That’s great! If you put the same SAIDI values in for with and without major events, you are telling us exactly that. Do the same for SAIFI.

My system reports CAIDI (Customer Average Interruption Duration Index), but you don’t ask for it. Why don’t you collect it?

Because CAIDI because it can be derived, we don’t ask for it to reduce the respondent burden. CAIDI = SAIDI / SAIFI and is the average duration of an outage. We display CAIDI on the IDC screen for your own reference and use it for some quality assurance checks.

I’m getting an error that my CAIDI (Customer Average Interruption Duration Index) is too high/low, but you don’t collect it.

The 861 survey does not ask for CAIDI because it can be derived from other provided values. CAIDI = SAIDI / SAIFI and is the average duration of an outage. We expect CAIDI to be greater than 20 minutes and less than 240 minutes (4 hours).

If the calculated CAIDI is low, you may be reporting your SAIDI in hours instead of minutes, or you may be reporting your CAIDI value instead of your SAIDI value. If your calculated CAIDI is too high, you may be using a SAIFI value which is inaccurate (too low). If your CAIDI is extreme but you think it is correct, provide a reason in the comments section/area.

Schedules 3B & 3C ask “At what voltage do you distinguish the distribution system from the supply system.” How do I find the answer to this question?

You should contact your manager or engineer of distribution wires. They may be able to tell you. EIA has observed that most distribution systems are differentiated from supply at the 69kV or less mark, with most utilities being about the 14.7 kV or 34.5 kV mark.

Do I include inactive accounts in this data?

If you are reporting on Schedule 3B, using the IEEE standard, you should not include inactive accounts. Only use the data from currently-metered customers. If you are not using the IEEE standard, you can include inactive accounts or not, depending on how you collect and calculate the data.

Schedule 4

Do I need to split up my data via state AND balancing authority?

New to EIA’s data collection for 2013 was the requirement to split up the data by state and by Balancing Authority (BA). Some states can have more than one Balancing Authority and some Balancing Authorities are located in more than one state. When adding a new state or BA online, first enter the state in the dropdown menu, then select the BA. This distinction is very important for our data collection process, so be sure to verify your balancing authorities before you begin reporting.

How do I add another state?

A state can be added in two ways. The preferred method is to use the INSERT RECORD button at the top of the menu. Another way is to click on the last state box and then click the down arrow key on your keyboard.

I don't know what Balancing Authority we have. How do I find out?

Most Balancing authority information should be prefilled. If yours isn’t prefilled, contact a staff member for guidance. A Balancing Authority is the entity responsible for certain operations of the grid. When a utility is serving electric customers, they are doing so within some balancing authority’s area. Balancing authorities are part of NERC reliability initiatives. Historically this function was performed by the Control Area Operator. The distribution company usually owns the wires. Below are the EIA and the NERC definitions of Balancing Authority:

• EIA Definition - A Balancing Authority (electric) is the responsible entity that integrates resource plans ahead of time, maintains load-interchange-generation balance within a Balancing Authority Area, and supports Interconnection frequency in real time
• NERC Definition -A Balancing Authority is the responsible entity that integrates resource plans ahead of time, maintains load-interchange-generation balance within a Balancing Authority Area, and supports Interconnection frequency in real time.

How do I split up the customer classes?

See examples of each customer class on the sector chart in the survey instructions. EIA classifies customers based on their business type (NAIC classification), rather than on their amount of load.

For apartment buildings, do I count each resident as one residential customer or do I count the whole apartment building as one commercial customer?

It depends on who gets billed. If each resident receives their own bill, they each get counted as a Residential customer. If the apartment building is billed on one cumulative invoice, then report that as one commercial customer.

When reporting transportation customers, for example a metro system, do I count each station as a customer?

No. The system as a whole should be counted as one customer. Each different type of transportation system counts as one, so most utilities do not have more than a few transportation customers.

How do I report the number of customers?

Collect each month's end-customer count, and report the average of the 12 end-of-month customer counts.

What does it mean to report the revenue in "thousand dollars to the nearest 0.1?"

Revenue should be reported in thousand dollar increments, including for one decimal place. For example, if the total revenue is $100,580.00, it should be reported as 100.6 on the form.

On Schedule 4A, a question asks “Are your rates decoupled?” What does this mean?

Decoupling, as applied to utilities, is defined as breaking the traditional link between a company’s rates and earnings. For example, a decoupling mechanism allows the utility to defer fixed distribution costs that the utility fails to recoup through its volumetric-based charges (rates). The utility is then allowed to recover the deferred costs associated with the unrecovered fixed costs through a surcharge mechanism over some period of time.

Only some of our rates are decoupled. Do I check 'YES' or 'NO' for that question on Schedule 4A?

There are many/several kinds of decoupled rates. Answer 'YES’ if any of your rates are decoupled.

Schedule 6A

If I use another company to run our Energy Efficiency programs, but they are not listed in the instructions with those currently recognized to report. Do I still need to enter the data?

Yes. If you use a non-utility DSM Administrator to administer your Energy Efficiency programs and they're not on the list, you must report the data yourself. You may add them for the next reporting year by contacting an EIA staff member.

What is the difference between Annual and Life-Cycle savings?

Reporting Year Incremental denotes either Savings or Costs that are related to new customers in the reporting year. The EIA-861 defines a new customer as a participant who joined an existing program in the reporting year OR as a participant in a program that was newly initiated in the reporting year. For instance, if Jane Doe just joined an appliance rebate program in 2014 (the reporting year), then Jane would be considered a new customer. In subsequent years, Jane would not be considered a new customer and will not be reported for.

Incremental Life Cycle refers to Savings or Costs attributed to new customers over the entire lifetime of the energy efficiency measure. Every measure (or energy efficiency program) has a useful life, meaning there is an estimated amount of time a measure is considered to generate energy savings. For example, an LED light bulb may last for seven years, so the life cycle for a new participant would be seven years. An insulation program may have savings for 15 years or more and would have a corresponding life cycle of 15 years.

In the example above, Jane Doe enrolled in the appliance rebate program this year. EIA would expect her information to be reported as:

- Reporting Year Incremental Savings: 200 kWh (the amount of electricity saved in the first year of replacing her water heater with a more energy-efficient technology)
- Reporting Year Incremental Costs: $300 (the rebate amount given to Jane, which is a cost to the utility.
- Incremental Life Cycle Savings: 2,000 kWh (the new water heater has an expected life of 10 years, so the assumption is a savings of 200 kWh for every year [10 years])
- Incremental Life Cycle Costs: $300 (even though the new water heater has an expected life of 10 years). The rebate was a one-time expense in the first year; the Reporting Year incremental costs will be the same as the Life Cycle costs

What is the difference between Peak Demand Savings for Reporting Year and Life Cycle?

Peak Demand Savings for both reporting year and life cycle are in MW (not MWh). For example, if an LED light bulb lasts seven years and is expected to take 20 kW (0.020 MW) off at peak times the Reporting Year Peak Demand Savings would be 0.02 MW. Over the life cycle of seven years, we expect the same useage, and thus the value for Life Cycle Peak Demand Savings would also be 0.02 MW.

Another example is an appliance rebate (expected to last 15 years). We expect the appliance works perfectly for the first year and saves 0.03 MW (30 kW) during peak hours. As the unit gets older, it starts using more energy than it did in previous years. By the end of the 15-year life of the appliance, the average peak usage might be 0.027 MW (27 kW) each year

What are some examples of the costs that go into an Energy Efficiency program besides customer incentives?

Any cost directly attributed to the implementation or functioning of an Energy Efficiency program can be counted as other costs. These costs can include staff compensation, computer hardware/software purchases for your program staff, office rents to house program staff if they are separate from the company site, administrative costs, marketing materials, monitoring and evaluation, and television commercials for consumer awareness.

Where can I find information about calculating the life cycle of an energy- efficiency product?

The EIA does not provide this information, because those measures are typically put into place by each utility as part of product/plan implementation, and they can vary. The Energy Star website has reference information on many energy-efficient products.

Schedule 6B

Is Demand Response the same as Load Management?

Yes. In previous years the survey used the term Load Management, but EIA decided to use the more industry-wide term, Demand Response.

What is the difference between Potential and Actual peak demand savings?

Potential peak demand savings is the highest possible load reduction that could be called down during the hour of the annual system peak. Actual peak demand savings is the load reduction that was actually achieved during this time. The potential savings will always be greater than or equal to the actual savings.

If I report Energy Savings, should I report costs?

Yes. If applicable, all costs related to demand response programs should be reported. Customer Incentives such as refunds or credits should be included. Administrative and any other costs should also be reported.

What are grid-interactive water heaters?

EIA uses the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE/EERE) definition for grid-interactive water heaters: "A grid interactive water heater is an electric storage water heater that is capable of being controlled remotely by a third party (usually an electricity service provider) that provides the third party the ability to control the operation of the unit by storing thermal energy during off-peak times." However, DOE/EERE has told EIA that this definition is not finalized. EIA will modify the instructions to conform with the final definition when it is available. If your company added any grid-interactive water heaters as part of your Demand Response program, enter the number that were added during the reporting year.

Schedule 6C

Should inactive participants of dynamic pricing programs be reported?

Report all active customers, meaning customers who receive energy and are billed accordingly, whether or not they choose to engage in options under the plan they enrolled in.

If a customer is enrolled in more than one dynamic pricing program, do we count them in each category?

Yes. Line 1 is for the total number of customers in each sector that are enrolled in any dynamic pricing program, and lines 2-6 are to identify the types of programs these customers are enrolled in. check all that apply

Schedule 6D

Do we report all installed meters, or the number of installed meters that were active?

Only enter the number of meters of each type that were active at the end of the reporting year. You may indicate the actual total, including inactive installed meters, in the footnotes section.

We don't have advanced metering. Do we have to enter data on this schedule?

Yes. The number of non AMR/AMI meters (Line 4) refers to standard electric meters. All customers reported on Schedule 4A and/or Schedule 2C will have one of these three types of meters (AMI, AMR, or standard).

Regarding AMR meters, does EIA only want the company to provide a count of those meters that transmit data one-way AND are read via drive-by vans? What if a meter reader walks by using a hand-held reader?

All AMR meters should be reported if they transmit data one-way to the utility, regardless of how the data are collected. Meters queried via drive-by vans and hand-held readers would be counted.

What is the difference between each type of meter?

Standard meters, or Glass meters, are the old meter technology that requires the physical meter to be accessible by electric company personnel for readings.

AMR (Automated Meter Readings) meters transmit usage information one way, from the customer to the utility. Meter readings can be taken remotely using hand-held readers, drive-by vans, and network communication.

AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) meters transmit data two ways, between the customer and utility. Usage data are recorded by the meter at least once hourly and is transmitted to the utility at least once daily. In addition, data may be made available to customers via the website or other means at different time intervals.

If AMI meters are installed but the data are not provided to the customer daily, do we count them as AMR?

As long as the meters transmits data two ways, records the data at least hourly, and transmits it to the utility at least daily, they count as AMI. The data also must be made available to customers at reasonable intervals, or be readily accessible to customers, such as via a website.

If all of our AMI meters also have the HAN gateway enabled, do we just list the number of meters on the HAN-gateway-enabled line or do we put the same number on both lines?

Enter the number of AMI meters you have, and of that number, enter below how many have the HAN gateway enabled. If you have a number of HAN-enabled meters, your AMI count should be equal to or greater than that number.

What is the difference is between Question 3 (# of AMI meters with HAN- gateway enabled) and Question 7 (# of customers able to access daily energy usage through a web portal or other electronic means). Should the count of HAN meters be included in the number for question 7?

HAN gateway enabled (Question 3) is a subset of access to energy usage (Question 7) because some customers can access their data online using a method other than the HAN. Note that Question 7 asks for the number of customers, while Question 3 focuses on the number of meters: some customers may have more than one meter on premises.

I don't know the Energy Served through AMI. Can I leave that line blank?

If you list AMI meters, you must also list the energy served through AMI. If you don't know the exact amount, provide your best estimate. However, Energy Served through AMI Meters should not be greater than total sales reported on Schedule 4A and 4C.

Is it OK if the total number of customers with access to daily energy usage through a webportal or other electronic means is greater than the number of customers on Schedule 4A and 4C?

Yes. The number of customers with access to daily energy use through a webportal or other electronic means may be greater than or less than the number of customers on Schedule 4A and 4C. This amount is the end-year customer count that has access to energy use through a webportal or other electronic means. The customer count on Schedules 4A-D is the average of the 12 close-of-month customer counts.

What is direct-load control?

With the use of two-way meter communication, utility companies are able to curtail a customer's consumption if necessary

Schedule 7A - Net metering programs

What is the difference between net metering (Schedule 7A) and distributed generation (schedule 7B)?

The difference is determined by the customer contract; if an agreement is in place for the customer to use the generator to offset their own energy needs, with the capability to sell back or receive credit for any excess energy produced, then it is considered net metering (7A). If there is generation that is not net metered, or is not integrated with the customer load (and less than 1 MW capacity), t should be reported as distributed/dispersed generation (7B).

Should I report all net-metering customers or only those who had their systems installed this reporting year?

You should report ALL net-metered systems that are grid-connected no matter what year they were installed.

Do we only report net-metering customers who put electricity back on the grid?

No. All customers with a net-metering application should be reported, whether or not they produce enough electricity to sell back to the utility.

How do we figure out the installed net metering capacity?

The installed net metering capacity is the sum of capacities of all customers within the specified group. For example, if you have five residential photovoltaic customers who each have an installed capacity of 0.01 MW (10 kW), then the residential photovoltaic installed net metering capacity should be reported as 0.05 MW (50 kW). Remember to report in MW, supplying up to three decimal places. The installed capacity should be detailed in each customer's interconnection agreement. Capacities should not exceed limits set up by each stap.

For the EIA-861, do we report the net metering customer count as a monthly average, like on other schedules?

No. For net metering, use the December customer count.

What do you mean by electric energy sold back to the utility?

If a customer's net metering installation produces more electricity than they require for their own energy needs, the excess may be sold back to the utility, or a credit may be provided based on their contract. The excess electricity should be entered as MWh. If no energy is sold back, enter '0' or leave this line item blank on the survey. Only report this information if it is available.

If a single customer has both photovoltaic and wind technologies, should this be considered as two customers?

Yes. The two generating types are counted as two customers, reported on the survey as one for each installed technology.

What renewable technology other than photovoltaic and wind, are eligible for net metering?

Other can include solar thermal electric, combined heat and power (CHP), landfill gas, biomass, geothermal electric, fuel cells, municipal solid waste, biogas, small hydroelectric, tidal energy, wave energy, and ocean thermal. Technologies should be based on the state program eligibility.

We have a virtual net-metered installation in a residential development: should it be counted as commercial since it’s not owned by a specific resident?

How to classify this type of installation depends on who owns and receives benefits from the generation. If the management company for the development owns the units and keeps all the credits/revenue from the generation, then it should be classified as commercial. If the residents receive the benefits (generation and/or credits) from the unit – and not the management company – then it should be classified as residential.

If you classify the installation as Residential, then list as Customers how many households the installations serves

Schedule 7B

How do I know whether I should report generation on the EIA-860 or the EIA-861?

Facilities with a generation capacity of 1 MW (1,000 kW) or greater, and are grid-connected should be reported on the EIA-860 form. Facilities with a generation capacity of less than 1 MW should be reported on the EIA-861 fop.

Error log

How do I override an edit error?

Edit errors can only be overridden by clicking the X indicated in the red box (shown above) and providing a detailed explanation of the reason why the error was flagged. Failing to provide a sufficient explanation for the error may result in difficulties submitting your form and possible additional questions from survey staff.

I believe the data I've entered is correct, but I'm still getting error messages.

The most common mistake is entering data in the wrong units. The units of energy you should use are MW (megawatt) and MWh (megawatthour). You should convert to this unit instead of entering data using the kW (kilowatt) or kWh (kilowatthour). 1 MWh = 1,000 kWh. To convert from kW to MW, divide by 1,000. Power conversion calculators are available on the internet.

Revenue should be reported in thousands of dollars. For example, if the total revenue is $175,841.00, report it as 175.841 on the form.

Use a copy of your previous year's form to compare year-over-year data.

What do I put for an override comment?

Your comments should explain why the data differ as explained in each error message. Many times there is a reasonable explanation for data outside the set criteria, and a thorough explanation may eliminate further questions. Saying Data are correct is not an acceptable answer. EIA will contact you for further explanation.

What if there were errors with the previous year's data?

If this is the case, correct that data in your override comments or in footnotes to avoid further questioning and send revised prior-year’s data to the EIA-861 staff.