Eia

What Eia does

Eia exposes U.S. Energy Information Administration data through MCP tools. The available datasets include petroleum and other liquids, natural gas, electricity, ethanol, and broader energy series accessed through route paths. Results generally include time periods, values, and metadata such as the relevant area or series name.

The server supports questions about gasoline and diesel prices, crude oil, natural gas storage and production, electricity generation by fuel and region, retail electricity sales, and ethanol supply-chain measures. Electricity data can include state-level generation, while petroleum and other datasets may provide regional breakdowns.

How it works

A hosted connection uses the Pipeworx gateway endpoint at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/eia/mcp. MCP clients can connect directly to that URL, or use the full Pipeworx gateway at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp. The hosted pack endpoint also exposes shared Pipeworx meta-tools, including routing and discovery functions, in addition to the Eia tools.

For local MCP configuration, the @pipeworx/mcp-eia package runs as a stdio bridge. It forwards requests over the network to the same hosted Eia endpoint, so it does not provide offline access. The gateway also offers HTTP tool calls for clients that do not use MCP.

Setup and configuration

A remote MCP client can use this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "eia": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/eia/mcp"
    }
  }
}

For a local stdio connection, run the package with npx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "eia": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-eia"]
    }
  }
}

The local bridge needs network access. Anonymous use is capped at 50 calls per day; a free Pipeworx account raises the limit to 200 calls per day. Add PIPEWORX_API_KEY to the client configuration to authenticate the bridge. Set PIPEWORX_META_TOOLS=1 when the local connection should also list the gateway-wide meta-tools.

Direct EIA API access requires a free EIA API key, passed through the relevant request as _apiKey. EIA keys are available from the EIA Open Data registration page.

Tools and capabilities

• eia_series queries an EIA route path and returns historical values with timestamps and metadata. It is intended for series not covered by the specialized tools.
• eia_petroleum retrieves petroleum data for products such as gasoline, diesel, crude, stocks, supply, production, and imports.
• us_fuel_price returns weekly U.S. average retail prices for regular, midgrade, or premium gasoline and diesel. The result identifies the selected grade and area.
• eia_natural_gas covers named natural-gas series such as prices, production, consumption, storage, and spot prices, including Henry Hub data.
• eia_electricity returns generation, retail sales, prices, and state-generation series across sources including coal, gas, nuclear, hydro, wind, and solar.
• eia_ethanol retrieves ethanol production, stocks, and imports using EIA petroleum supply data filtered for ethanol.

Limitations and notes

EIA reporting schedules vary. Petroleum prices are generally weekly with a reporting delay, while electricity generation is monthly and may lag by roughly two months. Natural gas values can use different volume or energy units, so comparisons may require conversion.

Electricity generation may use net-generation definitions and state classifications based on both fuel and primary mover. Aggregate results carefully to avoid double counting. Annual Energy Outlook values are scenario-based projections, not guaranteed outcomes. EIA spot prices are official end-of-day data and are not a substitute for a real-time commercial market feed.