Worked on the arendst/Tasmota repository to enhance the reliability of MQTT meter data publishing for Home Assistant integrations. Addressed a data integrity issue by implementing a gating mechanism in C++ that ensures MQTT messages are only published when valid meter data is available, leveraging the existing dvalid[] array to prevent initial zero values from corrupting statistics after device restarts. Focused on embedded systems and IoT development, the solution maintained compatibility with current publish pathways while improving the trustworthiness of dashboards and automations. This work demonstrated careful attention to data quality and robust handling of MQTT protocol workflows in embedded firmware.