The carbon footprint of electricity is a critical parameter that reflects the green and low-carbon performance of the power system. Due to its fundamental role as an energy source

it also serves as an essential parameter for quantifying the carbon footprints of various mid- and downstream products. To address the key issues including the wide coverage of carbon footprint accounting

the complexity of system modeling

and the lack of a mature and standardized method system

it is necessary to comprehensively consider the electricity generation and transmission and distribution processes involved in carbon footprint of electricity

as well as all life cycle stages from raw material and equipment acquisition

station construction

operation and maintenance to recycling and disposal. This paper systematically examines electricity as a specific research subject

categorizing various electricity-related carbon factors and their primary application scenarios in power generation

transmission

and distribution. Moreover

this paper reviews carbon footprint quantification methods and internationally published carbon footprint data levels for carbon-based power generation

non-carbon-based power generation

and transmission and distribution processes. Based on the analysis of existing research

this study proposes the concept of generalized carbon footprint factor of electricity

along with its quantification method and decomposition form. The analysis results show that the generalized carbon footprint of electricity quantified in the form of decomposition can meet the usage requirements in multiple scenarios. When quantifying the carbon footprint in the electricity generation and transmission and distribution process

the distribution of grid loss emissions needs to be considered

and two distribution mechanisms are proposed. The findings and discussions provide essential supports for advancing China's carbon footprint management system based on electricity carbon footprints and establishing a scientific and standardized methodology for electricity carbon footprint quantification.