energy_generators_county
Generator-level inventory from EIA Form 860, geocoded to county. One row per generator per year (2013–2024). Covers capacity (nameplate, summer, winter MW), fuel sources, technology type, prime mover, operating and retirement dates, sector, and CHP status. Plants resolved to county_id via dim.geographies; ~1.2% of plant-years unresolved.
tier —admin_record
overview
overview
272,371 generator-year rows. ~98.8% plant-years county-resolved.
current vintage — Final 2024
history — 2013-present in pipeline; EIA-860 source goes to 2001
provenance
source & licensing
authority
U.S. Energy Information Administration
dataset
Annual Electric Generator Report (EIA-860)
license
—
citation
U.S. Energy Information Administration. Form EIA-860 - county-resolved generator inventory, 2013-2024.
schema
fields
| name | type | definition |
|---|---|---|
| country_id | string | ISO alpha-2 country code (always 'US' for domestic tables). |
| county | string | County name as reported in the EIA Form 860 filing. This is a string label, not a standardized FIPS-keyed identifier. |
| county_id | string | 5-character FIPS code identifying the county.Joins dim.counties on county_id. |
| energy_source_1 | string | Primary fuel source code using EIA energy source classification (e.g., NG=Natural Gas, SUB=Subbituminous Coal, SUN=Solar). Determines the dominant fuel consumed or resource harvested by the generator. |
| energy_source_2 | string | Secondary fuel source code under EIA classification, if the generator is capable of burning or using a second fuel. Blank when the generator is single-fuel. |
| energy_source_3 | string | Tertiary fuel source code under EIA classification, if applicable. Populated only for multi-fuel generators that can operate on three or more fuel types. |
| generator_idkey | string | Generator identifier within the plant, unique in combination with plant_code. A single plant may contain multiple generators with distinct IDs. |
| is_chp | string | Flag indicating whether the unit is a combined heat and power (CHP) facility that simultaneously produces electricity and useful thermal energy. Values are Y or N as reported in EIA Form 860. |
| nameplate_capacity_mw | float64 · megawatts | Nameplate (design) capacity of the generator as specified by the manufacturer. Higher values indicate greater maximum potential generating capacity. |
| operating_month | int64 | Month (1–12) in which the generator entered commercial operation. Used with operating_year to construct the full commercial operation date. |
| operating_year | int64 · years | Calendar year in which the generator entered commercial operation. Used with operating_month to determine the generator's in-service date. |
| planned_retirement_month | int64 | Planned retirement month (1–12) as reported by the utility. Used with planned_retirement_year to construct the full planned retirement date; null when no retirement is reported. |
| planned_retirement_year | int64 · years | Planned retirement year as reported by the utility in EIA Form 860. Null when no retirement date has been reported. |
| plant_codekey | string | EIA plant identifier, unique within the EIA-860 survey. Used to join generator records back to plant-level attributes.Joins dim.plants on plant_code. |
| plant_name | string | Name of the power plant as reported by EIA. May differ from the legal or colloquial name used in other sources. |
| prime_mover | string | EIA prime mover code identifying the mechanical device that converts fuel or resource energy into shaft rotation or direct electricity (e.g., ST=Steam Turbine, GT=Gas Turbine, PV=Photovoltaic, HY=Hydraulic Turbine). |
| sector_name | string | Utility sector classification assigned by EIA (e.g., Electric Utility, Independent Power Producer, Industrial). Reflects the regulatory and market category of the plant owner. |
| state | string | Two-letter state abbreviation as reported in the EIA filing. Note: this is the raw EIA value and may not match the canonical state_id FIPS code column. |
| state_id | string | 2-character FIPS code identifying the state.Joins dim.states on state_id. |
| status | string | Generator operating status code as reported by EIA (e.g., OP=Operating, CN=Cancelled, P=Planned, RE=Retired). Reflects the generator's lifecycle state at the time of the filing. |
| summer_capacity_mw | float64 · megawatts | Net capacity rating during the summer peak-demand season, which may be derated from nameplate due to heat and humidity effects. Higher values indicate greater usable output during peak summer conditions. |
| technology | string | Generator technology type as reported by EIA (e.g., Conventional Steam Coal, Solar Photovoltaic, Combined Cycle). Describes the thermodynamic or conversion process used to produce electricity. |
| utility_id | string | EIA utility identifier for the entity that owns the plant. Used to join to utility-level financial and operational data.Joins dim.utilities on utility_id. |
| utility_name | string | Name of the utility owning the plant as reported in EIA Form 860. |
| winter_capacity_mw | float64 · megawatts | Net capacity rating during the winter season. For some technologies (e.g., gas turbines), winter capacity exceeds summer capacity due to cooler ambient temperatures. |
| yearkey | int64 | Reference year of the observation. |
relationships
joins
primary key
plant_code, generator_id, year
common joins
dim.geographies on county_id
energy_generation_state on plant_code
energy_scorecard_county_year on (county_id, year)
usage
how to use this table
method
Same as eia_860_generator but pre-resolved to county_id via dim.geographies; ~1.2% unresolved plant-years excluded.
do not use for
Same as eia_860_generator caveats.
known issues
Same as eia_860_generator. ~1.2% plant-years unresolved.
last updated · May 5, 2026