generated: '2026-07-27'
method: searched
source: https://www.eia.gov/opendata/faqs.php, https://www.eia.gov/opendata/documentation.php
summary: |
  EIA publishes throttle GUIDANCE rather than a hard published quota, and states plainly that
  it will not release its exact firewall rules for cybersecurity reasons. The numbers below are
  the ones EIA itself gives as safe under ideal network conditions. Enforcement is by automatic
  temporary suspension of the API key, with automatic reactivation. No rate-limit response
  headers are documented. Separately, the response-size cap (5,000 rows JSON / 300 rows XML) is
  a payload limit rather than a rate limit and is captured in conventions/eia-conventions.yml.
rate_limits:
- name: Sustained request rate
  scope: api key
  limit_count: 9000
  interval: hour
  published: true
  enforcement: soft guidance
  note: '"if you keep your sustained rate less than ~9,000 per hour ... your key won''t be
    throttled or temporarily disabled"'
- name: Burst request rate
  scope: api key
  limit_count: 5
  interval: second
  published: true
  enforcement: soft guidance
  note: '"and your burst rate beneath 5 per second"'
- name: Per-route limits
  scope: route
  limit_count: null
  interval: null
  published: false
  note: '"Specific API routes may have slower restrictions due to their complexity."'
factors:
  documented: Throttling is based on the key's usage, current demand against that data series,
    and requests from the originating IP.
headers:
  rate_limit_headers: none documented
  retry_after: not documented
breach_behaviour:
  action: The API key is automatically but temporarily suspended.
  recovery: Automatic reactivation after a cool-down.
  duration: A few seconds to a number of minutes; EIA states key bans do not last beyond an
    hour except in the most extreme circumstances.
  signal: An error message informs the caller when the condition occurs.
payload_limits:
  max_rows_json: 5000
  max_rows_xml: 300
  truncation_warning: In-payload warning object plus a warning header since v2.1
unmetered_alternative:
  name: Bulk Download Facility
  url: https://api.eia.gov/bulk/manifest.txt
  api_key_required: false
  note: EIA points recursive/bulk consumers at the zip archives rather than at scraping APIv2.
  update_cadence: twice daily, 5 a.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern
cost: free