Watch Your Watts: Read Your Meter

Reading your digital Smart Meter is easy.
It’s like reading the mileage odometer in a car or a digital clock.

1. Read the digits from left to right; write it down from left to right.  Every time the number increases, another kilowatthour has been used.
2. Subtract the prior reading from the current one to get the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) used.
3. In the illustration, the reading is 05850 kWh. If the previous reading had been 04825 the difference is 1025 kWh used. 

How to read your analog meter

In the illustration on the left, the reading is 51042 kilowatthours. If the previous reading had been 49899, the difference is 1143. Multiply 1143 by 40 (the multiplier) and the kilowatthour usage is 45,720.

To get a reading on energy consumption:

1. Start with the dial on the right.
2. Read all dials from right to left.
3. Write down, from right to left, the last number the dial has passed.
4. When the hand on any dial is between two numbers, take the smaller number.
5. When a hand is directly on a number, take that number if the hand just to the right has passed zero. If it is not there yet, take the smaller number.
6. Subtract the prior reading from the current one to get the number of kilowatthours (kWh), and then multiply that by your "multiplier" to get an actual reading. The multiplier for a commercial account is found on your bill.

Reading your Commercial Meter: Please call the Energy Services staff for assistance on reading your commercial meter, (209) 526-7339 or toll free (800) 304-5373. GS-1 commercial customers typically have a basic meter with a multiplier. GS-2 commercial customers have a demand meter. Some demand meters have LED displays instead of dials.