Energy buyers can now review detailed emissions data for delivered electricity in select regions

A new initiative led by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the association representing all U.S. investor-owned electric companies, is making it easier for commercial and industrial (C&I) energy buyers to see how much carbon is emitted to power their business operations.  

EEI’s database, titled “Electric Company Carbon Emissions and Electricity Mix Reporting Database for Corporate Customers,” contains voluntarily submitted datapoints from 19 EEI member electric utilities, which encompass over 50 operating companies across the U.S. and cover 43% of all U.S. electricity sales. The utility-specific information includes generation resource mixes, average emissions rates for delivered electricity, and residual mix emissions rates. The EEI database also denotes whether each utility’s emissions data complies with accepted accounting principles and if the amounts are verified by recognized third-party standards.   

The recently released data allows energy buyers in select regions to see the estimated carbon emissions per megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity they consumed in 2018 and 2019. Having access to this information is essential for C&I customers to enhance the accuracy of their sustainability reporting, track progress towards meeting their greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, inform future business planning, and support decarbonization of the electric grid. 

The carbon emissions reporting template that underlies this initiative was developed in collaboration between EEI, the World Resources Institute, EEI member utilities, and corporate energy buyers to increase the consistency and availability of emissions data. Through this voluntary effort, C&I customers in 33 states and the District of Columbia now have access to information that will boost their sustainability planning and reporting.  

Moving forward, EEI will update the emissions dataset by June 1 of each year using voluntary submissions from utilities. CEBA commends EEI and the roughly half of its member utilities that provided data for the inaugural version and encourages all of EEI’s membership to participate in this initiative in the future. Ultimately, buyers need this data from every load-serving entity in the U.S. and so this effort will continue to need to be expanded and harmonized. The buyer community can support the continued expansion of EEI’s database by contacting utilities to discuss its value and urge them to participate in future versions. 

If you are interested in becoming a CEBA member or learning more about CEBA’s work to harmonize data reporting by all load-serving entities in the U.S., or our broader work with electric utilities, email us at Innovation@cebuyers.org.  

See EEI’s press release here.