Caiso Authentication

generated: '2026-07-27'
method: searched
source: >-
  CAISO published documentation plus anonymous live calls to the OASIS Download API and
  the Today's Outlook feeds on 2026-07-27
docs: https://www.caiso.com/systems-applications/requesting-access-certificates
description: >-
  CAISO's authentication posture is a clean two-tier split. The public data tier — the
  OASIS Download API at oasis.caiso.com/oasisapi and the Today's Outlook CSV feeds at
  www.caiso.com/outlook — carries no authentication at all: no API key, no token, no
  account, no referrer check. This was verified by anonymous curl on 2026-07-27, which
  returned real zipped CSV market data. Everything else CAISO operates — market
  submission, dispatch, settlements, CMRI, SIBR, the WEM and RC portals — sits behind
  PKI client certificates issued to individuals sponsored by their company's User Access
  Administrator (UAA), and CAISO states in writing that OASIS is the sole exception.
  A third, distinct gate covers the *documentation*: developer.caiso.com requires a
  signup reviewed against an ISO-recognized corporate email domain and a written
  justification, so the interface specification and API URL example documents are
  access-controlled even though the API they describe is not.
summary:
  types:
  - none
  - mutualTLS
  api_key_in: []
  oauth2_flows: []
  anonymous_public_tier: true
schemes:
- name: anonymous
  type: none
  applies_to:
  - CAISO OASIS Download API
  - CAISO Today's Outlook Data Feeds
  required: false
  description: >-
    No credential of any kind. GET the servlet or the CSV path and the data is returned.
    Verified 2026-07-27 with SingleZip (SLD_FCST, HTTP 200, 8,952-byte zip) and with
    https://www.caiso.com/outlook/current/fuelsource.csv (HTTP 200, text/csv).
  sources:
  - https://www.caiso.com/documents/oasis-frequently-asked-questions.pdf
  - live probe 2026-07-27
- name: caiso-pki-client-certificate
  type: mutualTLS
  applies_to:
  - CAISO Market Participant Portal
  - CMRI / SIBR / settlements and other participant systems
  required: true
  description: >-
    Digital certificate issued through CAISO to a named individual, requested and
    approved by that company's User Access Administrator. Not obtainable by the general
    public and not used by, or accepted on, the OASIS or Today's Outlook surfaces.
  sources:
  - https://www.caiso.com/systems-applications/requesting-access-certificates
  - https://www.caiso.com/systems-applications/user-access-administrator-uaa
registration:
  required_for_api: false
  required_for_docs: true
  docs_signup: https://developer.caiso.com/_login/developersignup.aspx
  cost: free
  notes: >-
    OASIS FAQ Question One: "Developer Site access requires Users to sign up with an ISO
    recognized @domain email address and a detailed justification" — free-mail domains
    (gmail, yahoo, hotmail) are subject to rejection. No such gate exists on the API
    itself.
not_present:
- oauth2
- openIdConnect
- apiKey
- http-bearer
- http-basic
transport_security:
  https: true
  note: >-
    http:// requests to oasis.caiso.com 302-redirect to https:// at the BigIP edge. See
    security/caiso-domain-security.yml — oasis.caiso.com negotiates TLS 1.2 and neither
    host sets HSTS.