Enpublica data connector for Power BI

A Power BI Data Connector for the St. Louis Federal Reserve (FRED) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) databases.

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Summary

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.

Key Benefits

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).

Prerequisites

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.

Connector Installation - Power BI Desktop

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.

Connector Installation - Power BI Service

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.

Getting Started

Learn how to use the connector by working through the tutorials.