Online service improves public access to state energy data

U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON DC 20585

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2013

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has added its State Energy Data System (SEDS) annual time-series data to the agency's application programming interface (API). EIA's SEDS data library adds 1.4 million data points, summarizing energy production, consumption, prices, and expenditures, to the API that EIA launched in October 2012. The API allows direct third-party computer access to the agency's public data and is ideal for software developers working in the government, research, or the energy sector who are looking to design information technology applications.

"Expanding EIA's API to include important information on state energy consumption, production, and expenditure trends is a crucial enhancement that we are eager to share," said EIA Assistant Administrator for Communications Gina Pearson. "While EIA has created many cutting-edge tools for the public to explore energy data, our expanded API now gives innovators direct access to state-level energy data to develop their own web and mobile apps."

State data available in SEDS include:

Energy production (crude oil, natural gas, coal, and ethanol)Energy consumption by source and by sector (residential, industrial, commercial, and transportation)Energy costs and expenditures by source and by sectorGDP and population

Highly valued for their comprehensive coverage, state-level granularity, and time span, the SEDS data provide information on energy trends as far back as 1960 for individual states and for the nation as a whole. For example, when seeking information on gasoline, SEDS allows you to compare states by their total gasoline expenditures and average gasoline expenses per person over time.

Data for a particular state can also be compared with other states or the national average. All of the SEDS production and consumption data is expressed in physical units, such as barrels or tons, as well as in British thermal units (Btu). Btu measurements allow different sources of energy to be compared and aggregated.

The addition of the SEDS data builds upon the API's existing electricity datasets. Planned future additions to EIA's API include the full range of the agency's weekly, monthly, and annual petroleum and natural gas data. As these data sets are added over the coming months, the total number of data series available through EIA's API will continue to grow. APIs are an important element of the federal government's Digital Government strategy to make information more transparent and customer-centered. To get your free EIA API key and learn more, visit www.eia.gov/developer.

The product described in this press release was prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. By law, EIA's data, analysis, and forecasts are independent of approval by any other officer or employee of the United States Government. The views in the product and press release therefore should not be construed as representing those of the Department of Energy or other Federal agencies.EIA Program Contact: Mark Elbert, 202-586-1185, mark.elbert@eia.gov

EIA Press Contact: Jonathan Cogan, 202-586-8719, jonathan.cogan@eia.gov

EIA-2013-2

View the original article here