Tesla claims it has not been paid for more than a third of the electricity its batteries have generated in South Australia because they are providing it too fast to be counted.

The Tesla batteries have been providing back-up energy when generators fail or fall short. This is known as Frequency Controlled Ancillary Services. The energy market operator breaks down response time into six seconds, one minute and five minutes for power to be provided into the grid.

But batteries can take less than 200 milliseconds to provide energy back into the grid, so any power sent between 200 milliseconds and six seconds is too fast to register.

The Tesla battery is able to provide energy into the network so quickly AEMO doesn't register it all. Credit:David Mariuz

“Tesla estimates that the Hornsdale Power Reserve battery has delivered 30 to 40 per cent of its services to frequency markets without being paid due to existing AEMO technical specifications being written based on fossil fuel generation assets,” Tesla said.