Geospatial Mappings

IPM regions serve as the foundation of all model region in PowerGenome, but it is necessary to map IPM or model regions to other regional definitions. Load growth (both historical and into the future) is based on NEMS electricity market module (EMM) regions. Regional cost corrections are also based on EMM regions. Fuel costs from AEO, however, are given for each Census division.

IPM regions

Constructed from EPA shapefiles

NEMS EMM Regions

Current EMM Regions (https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/nerc_map.pdf)

The names used for each region in EIA’s Open Data API do not match those shown on maps of EIA’s current EMM regions (above) or their historical EMM regions from AEO 2014 (below). The region names in a PowerGenome settings file were determined by matching the actual names listed in EIA’s Open Data query search against each map and then looking at example API urls.

Historical (AEO 2014) NEMS EMM Regions (https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/archive/aeo14/assumptions/pdf/electricity.pdf)

US Census Divisions

The Census divisions used for fuel prices in AEO (and the PowerGenome setting aeo_fuel_region_map) are below the Census region level. Users must map their model regions against the Census divisions, which is why a complete mapping is not included in example settings files.