Although the EIA published this type of information prior to the SEP96 report, there has been a lack of uniform overview for individual States. This report is intended to update information and to serve as a framework for more detailed studies. Previously, the maps showed the service territories of the top five utilities in each State ranked by the capability that they operated in the State. Many generating plants have or are in the process of being merged among utilities or are being sold to nonutilities. Rankings by utility retail sales provide a useful criterion for indicating the relative size of the utilities in the State, while continuing to show their service territories.
Some power plants are capable of generating electricity from multiple fuels.
For example, a shift in plant capability by fuel type would occur if utilities decided to use gas rather than petroleum from one year to the next. Although it would be accurate to allot capability to gas, interested parties could also assess that gas was the fuel of preference from the generation table with the additional knowledge that things could change given the amount of dual-fired capability available within the State. In the previous report, emissions estimates were based on fuel consumption data. This methodology overestimated the emissions contribution from electricity generation since all nonutility fuel consumption may not be totally associated with electricity generation. Consequently, the emissions estimates have been adjusted to show only emissions that result from the generation of electricity.