Our Mission

The Open Regional Electricity Observatory (OREO), an initiative of the Power Transformation Lab at the University of California San Diego, is dedicated to expanding access to high-quality, transparent power data in pivotal regions where such data remains limited. The core of this effort is to collect, reconstruct, curate and validate publicly available data on power systems.

By developing and sharing high-resolution datasets for sub-national planning and operational power system modeling, we seek to lower barriers to rigorous analysis and enable a wider community of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to engage with energy systems on an equal footing with traditional incumbents.

In line with the Lab's commitment to open and collaborative modeling, we promote transparency and replicability in model inputs and outputs, support more diverse and creative uses of analytical tools, and inform more inclusive decision-making in the energy transition.

What We Do

Data Collection and Assimilation

We collect data from multiple publicly available sources both official and non-official, verify their accuracy through cross-checking and validation, and standardize formats to ensure consistency and usability across power modeling frameworks. Core datasets are anchored by products of national energy authorities and statistical agencies with important limitations, augmented with ground-truthing and complementary collection of local announcements, planning documents and news reports. We build on major open data initiatives, including power generator records from the Global Energy Monitor (GEM) and transmission infrastructure data from OpenStreetMap (OSM). Renewable energy profiles are derived from major global reanalysis products such as ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) and the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) and diverse geospatial datasets reflecting land-use constraints. These datasets are converted for use in power system planning and operational models to evaluate generation expansion, transmission development, renewable integration, system reliability, and decarbonization pathways.

Global Energy Monitor (GEM)OpenStreetMap (OSM)

Data Reconstruction and Reproducibility

Due to inevitable gaps in the publicly available data series collected, there are substantial additional efforts to reconstruct missing data and produce simulated datasets that reflect real-world conditions. These reconstruction methodologies are fit-for-purpose to the given research questions, for example aiming to replicate extreme behavior for reliability assessments and seasonal variation for annual operations. Where applicable, our simulated data tries to minimize errors with our collected datasets through tunable parameters reflecting weights assigned for importance and accuracy. We provide datasets, methodological notes, and supporting documentation so that users can reconstruct our data, understand the underlying assumptions, and reproduce the results in a transparent and consistent manner.

Data Sharing and Modeling Applications

We provide datasets and documentation for modeling power systems, with open-source data profiles, standardized formats, and transparent methodologies for data generation and processing. To support reproducibility and broader adoption, we document how datasets are constructed and harmonized across multiple sources. We also help researchers navigate modeling applications by curating links to open-source models, research reports, and high-impact studies that use the same or related datasets, enabling users to understand and identify relevant use cases for their own analyses.

We welcome inquiries for additional data creation and modeling application collaborations.

Power Transformation Lab

The Power Transformation Lab at the University of California, San Diego studies the engineering and institutional requirements of deploying low-carbon energy at scale. We work across multiple geographies and with academic, government, civil society, and industry partners to advance research and solutions to climate and environmental challenges.

Project Funders

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Climate Imperative Foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York