EEI launches database with carbon emissions intensity rates

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) launched a database with carbon emissions intensity rates for delivered electricity that can be accessed by corporate customers.

To develop this new database, EEI, working with member companies, corporate customers, and the World Resources Institute (WRI), developed a carbon emissions reporting template to provide carbon emissions intensity rates with consistent accounting adjustments made for renewable energy certificates (RECs) and green power subscription programs.

“EEI’s member companies are leading a clean energy transformation and are united in their commitment to get the energy they provide as clean as they can as fast as they can, while keeping customer reliability and affordability front and center as always,” Lisa Wood, EEI vice president for Customer Solutions, said. “This new centralized resource supports corporate customers in their sustainability reporting, reaffirms our industry’s ongoing rapid transformation to reduce carbon emissions, and demonstrates how our clean energy transformation benefits customers.”

The information can be used by corporate customers to demonstrate and validate their own emissions reduction commitments. EEI’s member companies – which are investor-owned electric companies – have the collective goal to reduce carbon emissions at least 80 percent by 2050.

“This is an important resource for enabling electricity customers to track progress toward their greenhouse gas reduction goals,” Lori Bird, U.S. Energy Director at World Resources Institute, said. “Having utility data in a single repository and standardized format that accounts for customer purchases and renewable energy transactions is an important step toward improved data access, transparency and accounting. A template like this will undoubtedly enable customers and electric companies to work more effectively together toward a clean energy future.”

“As a signatory to The Climate Pledge, we’re committed to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early and reaching net-zero carbon across Amazon by 2040,” said Kara Hurst, vice president of Sustainability at Amazon. “We really appreciate the partnership with EEI members on this project, our renewable energy program, and our electric transportation program. Having granular, accurate, consistent, and timely data from our utility partners is an important component to reaching this goal.”

At this stage, the database includes carbon emissions intensity rates for about half of EEI’s member companies, representing approximately 43 percent of total 2019 U.S. electricity sales.

Annual data collected from EEI member companies will be made available on the EEI website in early June of each year. Corporate customers and other stakeholders can access the data directly from EEI’s website at https://www.eei.org/Pages/CO2Emissions.htm.