diff --git a/docs/src/examples/basic examples.md b/docs/src/examples/basic examples.md
index a7f5976..73112ed 100644
--- a/docs/src/examples/basic examples.md	
+++ b/docs/src/examples/basic examples.md	
@@ -87,6 +87,18 @@ powerplot(data;
 )
 ```
 
+# Specify components for plotting
+Supported components for plotting are specified as:
+```@example power_data
+supported_component_types
+```
+
+By default, all of these components found in the data dictionary will be plotted.  However, it is possible to plot a subset of the components using the `components` keyword.
+
+```@example power_data
+powerplot(data; components=["bus","branch"], width=300, height=300)
+```
+
 # Power Flow
 If the variables `pf` (power from) and `pt` (power to) exist in the data, power flow directions can be visualized using the `show_flow` boolean toggle (true by default).
 
diff --git a/docs/src/parameters.md b/docs/src/parameters.md
index a664738..de77c69 100644
--- a/docs/src/parameters.md
+++ b/docs/src/parameters.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ These paramters modify the entire plot.
 | `layout_algorithim` | algorithm for generating network layout (see [Layouts](@ref)) | `kamada_kawai` |
 | `fixed` | use fixed coordinates from network model | `false` |
 | `parallel_edge_offset` | offset distance between parallel edges | `0.05` |
+| `components` | string array of components to plot | `supported_component_types`|
 
 
 
diff --git a/src/core/types.jl b/src/core/types.jl
index ab96472..ddde72f 100644
--- a/src/core/types.jl
+++ b/src/core/types.jl
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 
-const supported_component_types = ["bus","gen","branch","dcline","load", "connector", "nw"]
+const supported_component_types = ["bus","gen","branch","dcline","load", "connector"]
+const supported_node_types = ["bus","gen","load"]
+const supported_edge_types = ["branch","dcline","connector"]
+
 
 """
     PowerModelsGraph
diff --git a/src/experimental/experimental.jl b/src/experimental/experimental.jl
index b754ce9..cb4b595 100644
--- a/src/experimental/experimental.jl
+++ b/src/experimental/experimental.jl
@@ -83,7 +83,6 @@ module Experimental
     end
 
     function _set_geo_coords!(plot_layer::AbstractDict{<:Any,<:Any})
-        println("running_branch")
         # create lat/lon channels from x/y channels
         for i in keys(plot_layer["layer"])
             if haskey(plot_layer["layer"][i],"layer")
diff --git a/src/layouts/common.jl b/src/layouts/common.jl
index b32afd0..466c1af 100644
--- a/src/layouts/common.jl
+++ b/src/layouts/common.jl
@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@ components is returned.
 function layout_network(case::Dict{String,<:Any};
     fixed = false,
     layout_algorithm = kamada_kawai,
-    node_types::Array{String,1}=["bus","gen","storage","load"],
-    edge_types::Array{String,1}=["switch","branch","dcline","transformer"],
+    node_types::Array{String,1}=supported_node_types,
+    edge_types::Array{String,1}=supported_edge_types,
     connector_weight=0.5,
     edge_weight=1.0,
     kwargs...
diff --git a/src/plots/plot.jl b/src/plots/plot.jl
index 1c551d4..63172d9 100644
--- a/src/plots/plot.jl
+++ b/src/plots/plot.jl
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ Create a plower plot. Check github repo for documentation on kwarg options.
 function powerplot(
     case::Dict{String,<:Any};
     layout_algorithm=kamada_kawai,
+    components=supported_component_types,
     fixed=false,
     invalid_keys = Dict("branch"  => ["mu_angmin", "mu_angmax", "mu_sf", "shift", "rate_b", "rate_c", "g_to", "g_fr", "mu_st", "source_id", "f_bus", "t_bus",  "qf", "angmin", "angmax", "qt", "tap"],#["b_fr","b_to", "xcoord_1", "xcoord_2", "ycoord_1", "ycoord_2", "pf", "src","dst","rate_a","br_r","br_x","index","br_status"],
     "bus"     => ["mu_vmax", "lam_q", "mu_vmin", "source_id","lam_p"],#["xcoord_1", "ycoord_1", "bus_type", "name", "vmax",  "vmin", "index", "va", "vm", "base_kv"],
@@ -24,15 +25,26 @@ function powerplot(
         return _powerplot_mn(case; layout_algorithm=layout_algorithm, fixed=fixed, invalid_keys=invalid_keys, kwargs...)
     end
 
+    # copy data for modification by plots
+    data = deepcopy(case)
+
+    # remove components that are not to be plotted
+    for component_type in supported_component_types
+        if !(component_type in components) && haskey(data, component_type)
+            delete!(data, component_type)
+        end
+    end
+
+
     # modify case dictionary for distribution grid data
-    if haskey(case, "is_kron_reduced")
-        case = distr_data(case)
+    if haskey(data, "is_kron_reduced")
+        data = distr_data(data)
     end
 
     @prepare_plot_attributes(kwargs) # creates the plot_attributes dictionary
     _validate_plot_attributes!(plot_attributes) # check the attributes for valid input types
 
-    data = layout_network(case; layout_algorithm=layout_algorithm, fixed=fixed, kwargs...)
+    data = layout_network(data; layout_algorithm=layout_algorithm, fixed=fixed, kwargs...)
 
     # fix parallel branch coordinates
     offset_parallel_edges!(data,plot_attributes[:parallel_edge_offset])
@@ -42,7 +54,7 @@ function powerplot(
 
     # validate data-related attributes
     _validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :gen_data_type)
-    _validate_data(PMD.gen, plot_attributes[:gen_data], "generator")
+    _validate_data(PMD.gen, plot_attributes[:gen_data], "gen")
     _validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :bus_data_type)
     _validate_data(PMD.bus, plot_attributes[:bus_data], "bus")
     _validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :branch_data_type)
@@ -116,7 +128,7 @@ function powerplot!(plt_layer::VegaLite.VLSpec, case::Dict{String,<:Any};
 
     # validate data-related attributes
     _validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :gen_data_type)
-    _validate_data(PMD.gen, plot_attributes[:gen_data], "generator")
+    _validate_data(PMD.gen, plot_attributes[:gen_data], "gen")
     _validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :bus_data_type)
     _validate_data(PMD.bus, plot_attributes[:bus_data], "bus")
     _validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :branch_data_type)
@@ -184,7 +196,7 @@ function _powerplot_mn(case::Dict{String,<:Any};
 
     # validate data-related attributes
     PowerPlots._validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :gen_data_type)
-    PowerPlots._validate_data(PMD.gen, plot_attributes[:gen_data], "generator")
+    PowerPlots._validate_data(PMD.gen, plot_attributes[:gen_data], "gen")
     PowerPlots._validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :bus_data_type)
     PowerPlots._validate_data(PMD.bus, plot_attributes[:bus_data], "bus")
     PowerPlots._validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :branch_data_type)
@@ -251,7 +263,7 @@ function _powerplot_mn!(plt_layer::VegaLite.VLSpec, case::Dict{String,<:Any};
 
     # validate data-related attributes
     PowerPlots._validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :gen_data_type)
-    PowerPlots._validate_data(PMD.gen, plot_attributes[:gen_data], "generator")
+    PowerPlots._validate_data(PMD.gen, plot_attributes[:gen_data], "gen")
     PowerPlots._validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :bus_data_type)
     PowerPlots._validate_data(PMD.bus, plot_attributes[:bus_data], "bus")
     PowerPlots._validate_data_type(plot_attributes, :branch_data_type)
diff --git a/test/runtests.jl b/test/runtests.jl
index f454c42..d2fc845 100644
--- a/test/runtests.jl
+++ b/test/runtests.jl
@@ -147,6 +147,12 @@ data = PowerModels.parse_file("$(joinpath(dirname(pathof(PowerModels)), ".."))/t
         end
     end
 
+    @testset "filter plot components" begin
+        case = PowerModels.parse_file("$(joinpath(dirname(pathof(PowerModels)), ".."))/test/data/matpower/case5.m")
+        p=powerplot(case, components=["bus","branch"])
+        @test length(keys(p.layer))==2
+        
+    end
 
     @testset "Experimental" begin
         using PowerPlots.Experimental
@@ -204,6 +210,28 @@ data = PowerModels.parse_file("$(joinpath(dirname(pathof(PowerModels)), ".."))/t
     end
 
 
+    @testset "Verify new components are fully supported" begin
+    
+        # set of nodes and edges is equivalent to all supported components
+        @test Set(union(supported_node_types,supported_edge_types))==Set(supported_component_types)
+        
+        for comp_type in supported_component_types
+            Memento.info(PowerPlots._LOGGER, "checking support for: $comp_type")
+            
+            # check that all components have a plot function
+            @test isdefined(PowerPlots, Symbol("plot_$comp_type"))
+
+            # check that all components have kwargs 
+            @test haskey(default_plot_attributes, Symbol("$(comp_type)_size"))
+            @test haskey(default_plot_attributes, Symbol("$(comp_type)_color"))
+            # skip connector
+            if comp_type != "connector"
+                @test haskey(default_plot_attributes, Symbol("$(comp_type)_data"))
+                @test haskey(default_plot_attributes, Symbol("$(comp_type)_data_type"))
+            end
+        end
+    end
+
 end
 
 PowerModels.logger_config!(prev_level); # reset PowerModels logger to previous level