Form EIA-861S

ANNUAL ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY 

REPORT (SHORT FORM) 

INSTRUCTIONS

Year: 2013

OMB No. 1905-0129

Approval Expires: 12/31/2015

Burden: .75 Hours

Page 1

PURPOSE

Form EIA-861S collects information on the status of selected electric power industry 

participants involved in the sale, and distribution of electric energy in the United States0. 

The data collected on this form are used to monitor the current status and trends of the 

electric power industry and to evaluate the future of the industry.

REQUIRED 

RESPONDENTS

The Form EIA-861S is to be completed by all electric utilities with annual retail sales in the 

prior year of 100,000 megawatt-hours or less, with the following exceptions:

1. A respondent has retail sales of unbundled service;

2. A full set of data is required from the respondent to ensure that statistical estimates 

for a state/sector are of acceptable quality;

3. A respondent reports in aggregate under the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) or 

WPPI Energy.

Utilities for which any of the exceptions apply must complete the long version of the EIA-861 

survey.

Note that respondents can only complete one type of Annual Electric Power Industry Report, 

either the EIA-861 or the EIA-861S, but not both.

Also note that responses are collected at the business (operating) level (not at the holding 

company level). 

Once every five years and in lieu of the short form, all entities that normally complete the 

EIA-861S will be required to complete the EIA-861. This is necessary to acquire the data 

needed to maintain the accuracy of the statistical imputation procedure used to estimate 

data not collected on the EIA-861S. As currently scheduled this requirement will not come 

into play for the first time until 2017.

RESPONSE DUE DATE Submit the completed Form EIA-861S to the EIA by April 30th, following the end of the prior 

calendar year.

METHODS OF FILING 

RESPONSE

Submit your data electronically using EIA’s secure internet data collection system (e-file).

This system uses security protocols to protect information against unauthorized access 

during transmission.

• If you have not registered with EIA’s Single Sign-On system, send an email 

requesting assistance to: EIA-861@eia.gov.

• If you have registered with Single Sign-On, log on at 

https://signon.eia.gov/ssoserver/login

• If you are having a technical problem with logging into e-file or using e-file contact 

the Help Desk for further information. Contact the Help Desk at:

Email: EIASurveyHelpCenter@eia.gov

Phone: 202-586-9595

• If you need an alternate means of filing your response, contact the Help Desk.

Please retain a completed copy of this form for your files.
Form EIA-861S

ANNUAL ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY 

REPORT (SHORT FORM) 

INSTRUCTIONS

Year: 2013

OMB No. 1905-0129

Approval Expires: 12/31/2015

Burden: .75 Hours

Page 2

CONTACTS

Internet System Questions: For questions related to e-file, see the help contact 

information immediately above.

Data Questions: For questions about the data requested on Form EIA-861S, contact the 

Survey Manager, preferably by email at EIA-861@eia.gov.

Jorge Luna-Camara Stephen Scott

202-586-3945 202-586-5140

 FAX Number: 202-287-1938

 

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. If your entity has retail sales that could be reported in Schedule 4 Part B or Part C or Part D of the FORM 

EIA-861L (long form), then you cannot use the 861S. You should email EIA-861@eia.gov or call one of 

the contacts listed above.

2. Report energy values in megawatthours. One megawatthour equals 1,000 kilowatthours. To convert 

kilowatthours to megawatthours, divide by 1,000 and round to the nearest whole number. For example, 

sales of 5,245,790 kilowatthours should be reported as 5,246 megawatthours.

3. Report in whole numbers.

SCHEDULE 1. IDENTIFICATION

1. Survey Contact: Verify contact name, title, email address, telephone number, fax number.

2. Supervisor of Contact Person for Survey: Verify the contact’s supervisor’s name, title, address, 

telephone number, fax number and email address. Supervisor contact must be different than the 

survey contact.

3. Report For: Verify all information, including entity name, entity identification number, and reporting year 

for which data are being reported. These fields cannot be revised online. Contact EIA if corrections are 

needed.

i. If any of the above information is incorrect, revise the incorrect entry and provide the correct 

information. Provide any missing information.

Entity and Preparer Information

4. Legal Name of Entity: Enter the legal name of the entity for which this form is being prepared. 

5. Current Address of Entity’s Principal Business Office: Enter the complete address, excluding the 

legal name, of the entity’s principal business office (i.e., headquarters, main office, etc.). 

6. Preparer’s Legal Name: Enter the legal name of the company, which prepares this form, if different from 

the Legal Name of Entity.
Form EIA-861S

ANNUAL ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY 

REPORT (SHORT FORM) 

INSTRUCTIONS

Year: 2013

OMB No. 1905-0129

Approval Expires: 12/31/2015

Burden: .75 Hours

Page 3

7. Current Address of Preparer’s Office: Enter the address to which this form should be mailed, if different 

from the Current Address of Entity’s Principal Business Office.

SCHEDULE 2. PART C. GREEN PRICING

Green Pricing Programs are Voluntary Retail Programs. They DO NOT include mandatory 

wholesale purchases of RECS to meet state Renewable Portfolio Standards. 

Green Pricing programs allow electricity customers the opportunity to purchase electricity generated 

from renewable resources and to pay for renewable energy development. Renewable resources include 

solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric power, and wood or other biofuels.

These programs are voluntary. Retail Customers pay an additional fee to purchase electricity 

generated from renewable sources. In addition, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), also known as 

green certificates, green tags, or tradable renewable certificates representing the environmental 

attributes of power produced from renewable energy projects may be purchased and incorporated into 

Green Pricing Programs. 

Select “Yes” or “NO” to indicate whether you had voluntary Retail Green Pricing programs 

during the reporting year.

SCHEDULE 2. PART D. NET METERING

Net Metering tariff arrangements permit a facility, generating electricity from a renewable resource, 

using a meter that reads inflows and outflows of electricity to sell any excess power it generates over its 

load requirement back to the electrical grid, typically at a rate equivalent to the retail price of electricity. 

If your company’s net metering program included any individual facilities with a nameplate 

capacity of 2 MW capacity or less during the reporting year, select “YES.”

If your company either (a) had no net metering program during the reporting year, or (b) all the 

individual facilities in program had a nameplate capacity greater than 2 MW, select “NO.”
Form EIA-861S

ANNUAL ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY 

REPORT (SHORT FORM) 

INSTRUCTIONS

Year: 2013

OMB No. 1905-0129

Approval Expires: 12/31/2015

Burden: .75 Hours

Page 4

SCHEDULE 4. PART A. SALES TO ULTIMATE CUSTOMERS. 

FULL SERVICE – ENERGY AND DELIVERY SERVICE (BUNDLED)

Enter the reporting year revenues in thousands of dollars, megawatt hours of retail sales of electricity to 

ultimate customers, and number of customers in total by state. Note if you had energy only sales or 

delivery only sales then you cannot submit the short form and need email EIA-861@eia.gov for further 

help

SCHEDULE 5. MERGERS AND/OR ACQUISITIONS

Select “YES” or “NO” to indicate whether your company engaged in these activities during the 

reporting year. 

SCHEDULE 6. DEMAND-SIDE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

Demand-side management (DSM) programs are designed to modify patterns of electricity usage, 

including the timing and level of electricity demand.

Company-administered programs DSM programs DO NOT INCLUDE changes in energy and load 

attributable to: 

1) Non-participants (e.g., customers known as free-riders, who would adopt program-recommended 

actions even without the program); 

2) Government-mandated energy-efficiency standards that legislate improvements in building and 

appliance energy usage; 

3) Natural operations of the marketplace (e.g., reductions in customer energy usage due to higher 

prices); and 

4) Weather and business-cycle fluctuations. 

Check “YES” in the space provided if your company administered Demand-Side Management 

Programs as described above; otherwise select “NO.”

SCHEDULE 6. PART C. Time-Based Rate Programs (Dynamic Rates)

1. Please indicate, by checking “YES” or “NO”, whether your company currently operates any timebased rate programs, e.g., real-time pricing, critical peak pricing, variable peak pricing and timeof-use rates administered through a tariff
Form EIA-861S

ANNUAL ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY 

REPORT (SHORT FORM) 

INSTRUCTIONS

Year: 2013

OMB No. 1905-0129

Approval Expires: 12/31/2015

Burden: .75 Hours

Page 5

If you select “YES,” report by state and sector the number of customers in time-based rate 

programs.

SCHEDULE 6. PART D. ADVANCED METERING

1. Standard (Electric) Meters are electromechanical or solid state meters measuring aggregated kWh 

where data are manually retrieved over monthly billing cycles for billing purposes only. Standard meters 

may also include functions to measure time-of-use and/or demand with data manually retrieved over 

monthly billing cycles.

2. Automated Meter Reading (AMR): Meters that collect data for billing purposes only and transmit this 

data one way, usually from the customer to the distribution utility. Aggregated monthly kWh data 

captured on these meters may be retrieved by a variety of methods including drive-by vans with shortdistance remote reading capabilities and communication over a fixed network such as a cellular network.

3. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI; often referred to as “smart meters”): Meters that have the 

capability to measure and record usage data at hourly or shorter intervals, and have the capability to 

provide usage data to both consumers and energy companies at least once daily. Data are used for 

billing and other purposes. Advanced meters include basic hourly interval meters and extend to real-time 

meters with built-in two-way communication capable of recording and transmitting instantaneous data.

4. Energy Served through AMI (MWh) should be entered in megawatthours for customers served.

Select “YES” or “NO” to indicate whether you operated an AMR system during the reporting year. If 

you select “YES,” report by state and sector the number of AMR meters 

Select “YES” or “NO” to indicate whether you operated an AMI system during the reporting year. If 

you select “YES,” report by state and sector the number of AMI meters and the energy served via AMI.
Form EIA-861S

ANNUAL ELECTRIC POWER INDUSTRY 

REPORT (SHORT FORM) 

INSTRUCTIONS

Year: 2013

OMB No. 1905-0129

Approval Expires: 12/31/2015

Burden: .75 Hours

Page 6

GLOSSARY The glossary for this form is available online at the following URL: 

http://www.eia.gov/glossary/index.html

SANCTIONS The timely submission of Form EIA-861S by those required to report is 

mandatory under Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy Administration Act of 

1974 (FEAA) (Public Law 93-275), as amended. Failure to respond may result 

in a penalty of not more than $2,750 per day for each civil violation, or a fine of 

not more than $5,000 per day for each criminal violation. The government may 

bring a civil action to prohibit reporting violations, which may result in a 

temporary restraining order or a preliminary or permanent injunction without 

bond. In such civil action, the court may also issue mandatory injunctions 

commanding any person to comply with these reporting requirements. Title 18 

U.S.C. 1001 makes it a criminal offense for any person knowingly and 

willingly to make to any Agency or Department of the United States any 

false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements as to any matter within its 

jurisdiction.

REPORTING BURDEN Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to 

average 0.75 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, 

searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, 

and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments 

regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of 

information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Energy 

Information Administration, Office of Survey Development and Statistical 

Integration, EI-21 Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20585-0670; and to the Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, D.C. 20503. A person 

is not required to respond to the collection of information unless the form 

displays a valid OMB number.

PROVISIONS REGARDING 

DISCLOSUREOF INFORMATION

Information reported on Form EIA-861S will be treated as public information 

and may be publicly released in identifiable form.