  Numerous studies have analysed inferred power-law distributions between
frequency and energy of impulsive events in the outer solar atmosphere in an
attempt to understand the predominant energy supply mechanism in the corona.
Here, we apply a burst detection algorithm to high-resolution imaging data
obtained by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph to further investigate
the derived power-law index, $\gamma$, of bright impulsive events in the
transition region. Applying the algorithm with a constant minimum event
lifetime (of either $60$ s or $110$ s) indicated that the target under
investigation, such as Plage and Sunspot, has an influence on the observed
power-law index. For regions dominated by sunspots, we always find $\gamma <2$;
however, for datasets where the target is a plage region, we often find that
$\gamma >2$ in the energy range [$\sim10^{23}$, $\sim10^{26}$] erg. Applying
the algorithm with a minimum event lifetime of three timesteps indicated that
cadence was another important factor, with the highest cadence datasets
returning $\gamma >2$ values. The estimated total radiative power obtained for
the observed energy distributions is typically 10-25 % of what would be
required to sustain the corona indicating that impulsive events in this energy
range are not sufficient to solve coronal heating. If we were to extend the
power-law distribution down to an energy of $10^{21}$ erg, and assume parity
between radiative energy release and the deposition of thermal energy, then
such bursts could provide 25-50 % of the required energy to account for the
coronal heating problem.
