Tesla VPP settlement and telemetry requirements

Settlement data is not real-time dispatch telemetry

Dispatch telemetry

Operational measurements used to observe and control a resource. Ask the operator for its applicable interface and reporting requirements.

Settlement data

Interval records used to calculate program performance and payments. A data-upload deadline and a measurement interval describe different parts of this workflow.

For Option 3, providers submit device/site records whose identifiers match enrollment. Files are separated by utility territory and uploaded monthly in tab-delimited OID format. Energy in kWh is preferred; average power in kW is also accepted.

The 2026 specification requires the preceding two months of data for participating sites if not already supplied. The deadline is 15 business days after month-end. Confirm the current specification and validation results with the administrator before submission.

Reporting requirements: sections 2, 3, and 5

California DSGS: 2025 rules versus the 2026 season

Tesla's published DSGS agreement references Option 3, not Option 2. Its support page explains app-based enrollment, participant controls, and performance-based compensation. Use your enrollment agreement and current Tesla guidance for your specific site.

Tesla DSGS support and participation agreement

Researching a 2025 settlement? The May 2025 specification also preferred 15-minute intervals and accepted hourly data. Use that season's documents for historical reconciliation, rather than assuming every 2026 reporting change applies retroactively.

Historical 2025 meter-data specification

The CEC's fifth-edition guidelines limit 2026 Option 3 participation to returning 2025 storage VPP aggregators, with an exception for bidirectional EVSE aggregators. Provider admission is separate from whether an individual home can join an existing program.

CEC fifth-edition guidelines · Current enrollment notices

Questions to ask before integrating a battery fleet

Use this procurement checklist to request a written scope from a prospective partner:

1. Program and season: Which participation option, utility territory, and enrollment agreement apply?
2. Data ownership: Who collects the measurements, validates them, submits reports, and resolves rejected records?
3. Interface: What protocol, device firmware, measured quantities, timestamps, and connectivity are required?
4. Performance: Which baseline, export limits, backup reserve, and missing-data treatment affect the settlement?
5. Evidence: Can the partner provide an example accepted report and the versioned technical requirements?

Do not infer hardware compatibility or a universal 4-second requirement from a directory profile. The sources reviewed here do not establish that all Tesla utility programs share one telemetry cadence, or that a particular Gateway generation is automatically excluded.

ERCOT ADER and utility programs have separate requirements

ERCOT publishes an ADER governing document, device-level telemetry instructions, a telemetry and qualification procedure, and an interval-data format. Its current index lists Phase 3.3 and Procedure 3.0. Those documents, not California DSGS rules, are the starting point for a Texas integration.

ERCOT ADER pilot documents

For utility programs, request the applicable program handbook and technical agreement. Check metering, enrollment conflicts, and interconnection conditions separately; acceptance into one VPP is not proof of eligibility for another.