A Power BI Data Connector for the St. Louis Federal Reserve (FRED) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) databases.
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The Enpublica data connector provides access to over 1 million economic and energy-related time series directly in Power BI. In addition to simple time series (i.e. date/value), the FRED and EIA databases host a variety of multidimensional datasets. This connector also exposes a small set of supplemental datasets directly from Enpublica - including historical data and a custom date dimension.
While the FRED and EIA databases provide access to datasets through a REST API, the Enpublica connector provides several ease-of-use and productivity benefits, including:
- API Key management. Instead of including api_key values directly in the URL, the Enbublica connector uses Power BI key authentication to keep keys secure and encrypted.
- JSON parsing. Many of the API calls require JSON parsing before the resultsets are usable within Power BI; the connector does this automatically.
- Data type conversion. Rather than having to manually find/adjust numeric and date values, the connector does this for you.
- Automatic paging. When retrieving large datasets, the APIs return only a subset of rows at a time. The connector automatically pagination, and introduces waits to avoid hitting API call limits.
- Parameter management. Instead of having to manually append parameters to a URL, the connector allows parameters to be easily entered through the Power BI Query Editor.
- Multi Series retrieval. Need to retrieve multiple series at the same time? The connector does this automatically - while also giving you the option to use series names (instead of series ids).
Each data source requires its own api_key - which needs to be obtained directly from the respective publisher:
- FRED - https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/api_key.html
- EIA - https://www.eia.gov/opendata/register.php
- Enpublica - submit an email request for a new api_key.
Note - Each api key is stored/managed in Power BI, and only transmitted to the respective data source.
After obtaning the necessary api_key(s), download and configure the connector in the Power BI Desktop; configuration can be done either:
- Manually. Download the connector file Enpublica.mez and then:
- Copy the connector file to the local [Documents]\Power BI Desktop\Custom Connectors folder. If the folder doesn't exist, create it.
- Adjust the data extension security settings in Power BI Desktop, File-Options-Security-Data Extensions-Allow any extension to load. Refer to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/desktop-connector-extensibility for instructions.
- Automatically. Download the zip file EnpublicaDQ_2024.zip. Unzip and run Setup.bat to automatically install the connector, and add it as a trusted connector. Note: requires Admin privileges.
Tip! If you install the connector while Power BI Desktop is open, make sure you close/re-open Power BI Desktop to ensure the connector is loaded.
To use this connector in the service (e.g., for scheduled refresh), you will need to enable custom data connectors in the gateway; this can be configured in the gateway app. Refer to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/connect-data/service-gateway-custom-connectors for instructions.
Update! See this quick tutorial for using the gateway with the Enpublica data connector.
Learn how to use the connector by working through the tutorials.