The model relies on assumptions for economic variables, including world energy market interactions, resource availability (which influences costs), technological choice and characteristics, and demographics.
[1][2] The primary use for NEMS is to produce the Annual Energy Outlook, published on the EIA website in the early months of each year.
Subjects such as the economic and environmental impacts of energy-related policy or structure changes are most frequently studied using NEMS.
The end-use consumption energy carriers and feedstocks reported by NEMS include, among others, electricity, natural gas, coal, gasoline, distillate oil (diesel), residual oil, propane, kerosene, liquefied refinery gases, jet fuel, renewables (primarily biomass and wind), and petrochemical feedstocks.
The stated archive purpose "is to demonstrate that the published results from the AEO reference case can be replicated with the model and to disclose the source code and inputs used."