out_eia__yearly_plant_parts
Return to SearchAnnual time series of all EIA plant parts, for use in matching to FERC 1.
- Most-recent data:
2026
- Processing:
Data has been expanded into a wide/denormalized format, with IDs and codes accompanied by human-readable names and descriptions.
- Source:
EIA -- Mix of multiple EIA Forms
- Primary key:
record_id_eia
Usage Warnings
Some columns contain subtotals; use caution when choosing columns to aggregate.
Data has been drawn from several EIA sources which are not always consistent with each other, and PUDL chooses the most consistent or relevant value to facilitate cross-referencing even if that means some values will differ from the raw sources. See Harvesting for details, and see Entity Resolution Methodology for a fuller conceptual overview.
Contains information from multiple raw inputs.
Additional Details
Practically speaking, a plant is a collection of generator(s). There are many attributes of generators (i.e. prime mover, primary fuel source, technology type). We can use these generator attributes to group generator records into larger aggregate records which we call "plant parts". A plant part is a record which corresponds to a particular collection of generators that all share an identical attribute and utility owner. E.g. all of the generators with unit_id=2, or all of the generators with coal as their primary fuel source.
The EIA data about power plants (from EIA 923 and 860) is reported in tables with records that correspond to mostly generators and plants. Other datasets (cough cough FERC1) are less well organized and include plants, generators and other plant parts all in the same table without any clear labels. This plant part table is an attempt to create records corresponding to many different plant parts in order to connect specific slices of EIA plants to other datasets.
Because generators are often owned by multiple utilities, another dimension of this plant part table involves generating two records for each owner: one for the portion of the plant part they own and one for the plant part as a whole. The portion records are labeled in the ownership_record_type column as owned and the total records are labeled as total.
This table includes A LOT of duplicative information about EIA plants. It is primarily meant for use as an input into the record linkage between FERC1 plants and EIA.
This table inherits canonicalized values for generators, plants, and utilities. EIA reports many attributes in many different tables across EIA-860 and EIA-923. In order to compile tidy, well-normalized database tables, PUDL collects all instances of these values and and chooses a canonical value. By default, PUDL chooses the most consistently reported value of a given attribute as long as it is at least 70% of the given instances reported. If an attribute was reported inconsistently across the original EIA tables, then it will show up as a null value. See /methodology/entity_resolution for a conceptual overview of this process.
Columns
Identifier for EIA plant parts analysis records.
The unique six-digit facility identification number, also called an ORISPL, assigned by the Energy Information Administration.
Date reported.
The part of the plant a record corresponds to.
Generator ID is usually numeric, but sometimes includes letters. Make sure you treat it as a string!
Dynamically assigned PUDL unit id. WARNING: This ID is not guaranteed to be static long term as the input data and algorithm may evolve over time.
Code for the type of prime mover (e.g. CT, CG)
The code representing the most predominant type of energy that fuels the generator.
High level description of the technology used by the generator to produce electricity.
Name of FERC account, derived from technology description and prime mover code.
The EIA Utility Identification number.
Indicates whether a plant part list record is associated with the highest priority plant part for all identical records.
Plant part of the associated true granularity record.
EIA record ID of the associated true granularity record.
ID dynamically assigned by PUDL to EIA records with multiple matches to a single FERC ID in the FERC-EIA manual matching process. The ID is manually assigned and has not been updated since 2020, but only affects a couple hundred records total across all years.
Total end of year installed (nameplate) capacity for a plant part, in megawatts.
Fraction of potential generation that was actually reported for a plant part. Energy generated over time period / nameplate capacity * time period (hours/years/etc.).
Total installed (nameplate) capacity, in megawatts.
Year the plant's oldest still operational unit was built.
Proportion of generator ownership attributable to this utility.
Average fuel cost per MMBTU of heat content in nominal USD.
Derived from MCOE, a unit level value. Average fuel cost per MWh of heat content in nominal USD.
Simplified fuel type code used in PUDL
Date of the scheduled or effected retirement of the generator.
Fuel content per unit of electricity generated. Coming from MCOE calculation.
Year the plant's most recently built unit was installed.
Net electricity generation for the specified period in megawatt-hours (MWh).
Year a generator went into service.
The operating status of the asset. For generators this is based on which tab the generator was listed in in EIA 860.
The operating status of the asset using PUDL categories.
Whether each generator record is for one owner or represents a total of all ownerships.
Whether a plant part record has a duplicate record with different ownership status.
Planned effective date of the scheduled retirement of the generator.
A manually assigned PUDL plant ID. May not be constant over time.
Plant name.
Derived plant name that includes EIA plant name and other strings associated with ID and PK columns of the plant part.
Contains EIA plant ID, plant part, ownership, and EIA utility id
Number of distinct generator IDs that participated in the aggregation for a plant part list record.
Total annual reported fuel costs for the plant part. Includes costs from all fuels.
Total annual heat content of fuel consumed by a plant part record in the plant parts list.
A manually assigned PUDL utility ID. May not be stable over time.
The name of the utility.
Four-digit year in which the data was reported.
PUDL plant ID and report year of the record.