Datasets we use
| Dataset | Publisher | What we use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Form EIA-861, average monthly bill | U.S. EIA | Residential price, use, bill and customers by state, 2025. |
| Form EIA-861, sales to ultimate customers and delivery companies | U.S. EIA | Customer counts, ownership type, retail provider share and delivery-only service. |
| Form EIA-861, service territory | U.S. EIA | The county lookup behind the find my electric company tool. |
| Form EIA-861, reliability | U.S. EIA | Outage minutes and interruptions on state pages. |
| Form EIA-861, net metering and dynamic pricing | U.S. EIA | Rooftop solar counts and time-of-use program counts. |
| Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020 | U.S. EIA | Typical use by home type, floor area and household size. |
| Form EIA-861, energy efficiency | U.S. EIA | Utility efficiency incentives paid to residential customers and first year savings, by state. |
| Form EIA-861 sales files, 2020 to 2025 | U.S. EIA | The price, use and bill history behind the rate increase tracker. |
| Consumer Price Index | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Inflation, shown next to electricity price changes. |
| Vehicle fuel economy records | U.S. EPA and DOE | Electric vehicle efficiency, range and charge time on the EV cost pages. |
| Alternative Fuels Data Center station counts | U.S. DOE | Public charging stations and ports by state. |
| LIHEAP state and territory contact listing | U.S. HHS, Administration for Children and Families | The official LIHEAP office, web page and public phone line for each state. |
| Poverty guidelines | U.S. HHS, ASPE | Income reference points on the bill help pages. |
| IRS FAQ on energy credits (FS-2025-05) | U.S. IRS | End dates of the federal home energy and vehicle tax credits. |
Source: EIA data are works of the U.S. government and are in the public domain.
Release dates and coverage
- Form EIA-861, final 2025 data. Released October 7, 2026. Covers calendar year 2025 for all 50 states and DC.
- Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020. The newest published results at the time of writing.
- Vehicle efficiency, charging station counts, LIHEAP offices, tax credit dates and state rules. Read on October 10, 2026. Rules and counts change, so each page shows the date it was checked.
Other sources
- State utility regulators. Each state page links to the commission that regulates electric rates in that state and, where one exists, the official comparison site.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Saver. Used for general guidance in the guides, such as thermostat and water heater settings.
- U.S. Department of Energy, home energy rebates. Program Notice 26-2 for the HOMES and HEEHR rebate rules.
- ENERGY STAR. The figure for savings from air sealing and insulation, and the rebate finder we link to.
- Texas Administrative Code and state regulator pages. The Texas rules quoted on the Texas pages, and the rescission, comparison site and supplier rules on the state switching guides. Each guide names its sources and the date we read them.
- California Public Utilities Commission and Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. The CARE discount and customer assistance program examples.
- Our own planning figures. Appliance watts and hours are our planning ranges, not a government dataset. The pages say so.
What we do not use
- Data bought from lead sellers or from supplier marketing lists.
- Figures copied from other websites. If a number cannot be traced to an official source, we do not publish it.
- Reviews or ratings of suppliers, because we do not have a clean source for them.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I download the original data?
The EIA publishes Form EIA-861 as spreadsheets on its website. The link in the table above goes to the data page.
Do you change the source numbers?
No. We compute averages and ranks from the source tables and round only for display. The methodology page shows the formulas.
What if I find a number that does not match the source?
Tell us through the contact page. We check it against the source and, if we made a mistake, fix it and record it in the corrections log.