The Power Delay Index
The share of America's planned generating capacity whose promised completion date is later than the first date its developer ever filed.
What does it show?
Whether America's promised power is arriving when promised. Every developer files an expected completion date with EIA; the index is the share of planned capacity whose current promise is later than the first one its developer ever filed. As of 2026-06: 43%, with the average pipeline megawatt 8.53 months behind and a total backlog of 2,437 GW-months.
Methodology
For every generator in the latest Planned sheet, its current promised in-service month is compared with the first promised month it ever reported across the vintage archive. A positive gap makes it "delayed"; shares are MW-weighted. This is a level, not a flow: the index falls when dates move back up or when delayed projects finish or cancel and leave the pipeline — so resolution is inherent, not hidden.
Limits
The index describes the current pipeline (survivors), and first promises are only observed from the 2023-06 baseline onward — a project already delayed before mid-2023 counts as on-schedule until it slips again. Both biases make the index conservative.