Meter Data Validation

File-Level

• File must be .xlsx or .csv format
• File must contain exactly one worksheet
• File must contain exactly one eac_facility_id value across all rows
• File may contain at most 10 distinct meter_id values. Split a larger set of meters across separate files.
• File must use exactly one unit_of_measurement, one local_timezone and one eac_registry_id across all rows — these are properties of the facility and cannot vary row to row

Required Headers

All 8 headers must be present in the first row:

Column Format Requirements

Time-Series Requirements

• No blank cells: All required columns must be populated in every data row — no empty cells allowed.
• Time continuity: Every interval needs a row with a timestamp and a value. No gaps are allowed, and no interval may be skipped because there is nothing to report.
• Zero vs. missing readings: Use 0 when the plant was not producing, for example during an outage or curtailment. Use null when the plant was producing but the metering system failed and no reading exists. A null interval passes validation but is counted in a warning, because no energy can be certified for it.
• Interval readings: Values must represent generation within the time interval, not accumulated meter totals. A meter series whose values never decrease over 24 or more readings is flagged as a likely cumulative register export.
• Consistent intervals: All time intervals within a meter series must be the same duration.
• Supported granularity: The interval between consecutive readings must be 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, or 1 hour. Daily rows (e.g. 24 hourly columns per day), monthly totals, or any other interval are rejected.
• Local midnight bounds: Each meter series should start at local midnight (00:00:00) and finish at local midnight. Finishing at midnight means the last reading plus the series interval lands on 00:00:00 — hourly data ends with a 23:00 reading, 15-minute data with 23:45. A series that starts or stops mid-day is warned, not rejected.
• UTC/local consistency: datetime_start_utc must match datetime_start_local adjusted by the timezone offset.
• Timezone offset consistency: The offset written in datetime_start_local must be the offset that local_timezone is actually on at that instant (e.g. America/Chicago is -06:00 in winter and -05:00 in summer).
• DST handling: UTC timestamps must stay continuous and unique through DST transitions. Local timestamps must reflect the change (missing hour in spring, repeated hour in fall) by switching their offset — a file that keeps the winter offset all year is rejected by the timezone offset check.