Submetering for
Commercial Tenant Billing

Are you an Owner and/or Managing Agent of the following types of buildings:

High-Rise Office

Office Complex

Strip Mall

Factory Center

And, are you charging your tenants for their electric use by:

1. Flat Charge (per square footage)?

2. Electric Usage Survey?

3. Not Charging At All?

If so, you could be losing THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS each and every year.

The Benefits of Metering

You may own/manage buildings that have nothing more than a “master meter” installed at the building’s main electrical service entrance.  This “master meter” measures the electrical usage for the entire building.  Your building receives a monthly bill from your local utility company (Note: with the introduction of deregulation, this procedure may no longer always be the case).  Electrical power is then distributed throughout your building (to the tenants) with no other metering involved.  Since there are no other meters in your building, there is no way to determine when, where, and how electricity is being consumed by your tenants.  In order to recoup some of the electric costs, perhaps you had an electrical survey performed and charge your tenants a flat rate per month based on that survey.  Perhaps you “worked it into the rent” in the same manner.  But, consider this situation:

One of your tenants signed a three year lease in your building.  The tenant’s business expands and they install more equipment 6 months into their lease.  This new equipment is used continuously for the duration of the tenant’s lease term. 

Question:  Do you know for a fact that your (initial or) existing present “flat charge” (to that tenant) will continue to be the proper amount?

Suppose this tenant decides to increase his/her operating hours from 9am-5pm to 8am-10pm.

Question:  Do you know for a fact that your (initial or) existing “flat charge” (to that tenant) will continue to be the proper amount?

Answer:  No.

Let’s face it, how can you know for a fact that you are collecting the proper amount when you charge a “flat amount” or “work it into the rent?” 

You can only know by metering your tenant.

You can and should collect the exact amount under any circumstance.  You should not be concerned if your tenants install more equipment, change their operating hours, or leave their A/C units or electric heating units running 24 hours a day.  Metering simplifies your building operations and eliminates the possibility of losing THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS each year in electric charges.  It’s simply the best choice.

The Benefits of Using Remote Reporting Electronic Meters

There are many meters on the market that you can install in your commercial building(s).  They range from electromechanical meters (glass enclosed) to full-featured power quality metering/monitoring devices.  How do you determine which is best for your particular situation(s)?  Ask the following questions:

What information do I need to produce tenant bills?

What is the meter accuracy?

What is involved in the meter installation?

How will the meters be read?

How reliable are the meters?

What is the experience and expertise of the manufacturing company?

Tenant Billing Information

It’s important that you have all the information needed to produce monthly tenant bills.  If you don’t have the proper information (peak monthly kW and accumulated kWh), you can not produce a bill.  By contrast, when you invest money in Quality Meters, you are spending money for features and information that you need.  

Meter Accuracy

You should only consider meters that meet or exceed ANSI Standards for Revenue meters.  Why?  Because most state public utility commissions require meters to meet these standards for billing and revenue purposes.  However, there are different ANSI standards for electromechanical and electronic meters.  Electromechanical meters are allowed a tolerance of +/-3% reading (ANSI C12.1 Standards), full scale while electronic meters are allowed a tolerance of +/-1% reading, full scale (ANSI C12.16 Standards).  So, electronic meters that meet ANSI C12.16 Standards are 3 times more accurate than electromechanical meters.  However, there are some electronic meters on the market that only meet ANSI C12.1 Standards.  With today’s technology, it seems ridiculous to purchase an electronic meter that only has the same accuracy as an electro-mechanical meter.  One of the benefits of electronic meters over electromechanical meter is improved accuracy which will add revenue.  

Meter Installation

Installing electronic meters is easier, quicker, and less expensive.  Installation time is usually less than 1 hour per meter and can be accomplished without turning off your tenant’s power (through the use of split-core current transformers).  By contrast, electromechanical meters are plugged into meter sockets.  The meter socket takes considerably more time to install and requires turning off your tenant’s power.  More time = more labor = much higher installation costs.

Meter Reading

Electronic meters are read from a remote location using hard-wire, power line carrier, telephone, RF radio, or cellular phone communications.  By contrast, electromechanical meters are read by hand.  Therefore, it is less costly to read electronic meters since people do not have to travel to and from your building(s) .  This is a very important point if you are considering hiring an outside company to perform your meter reading.  The cost of meter reading services should be more economical with electronic meters.  

Another very important, often overlooked point: installing remote reading electronic meters provides you with a “24-hour meter reader” at your building(s).  You may say, “Who Cares?”  Well, when tenants are calling your office with billing questions and are insisting that their bill is too high, what can you do?  Provide them with a daily usage history of their electric consumption and demand.

Company Reputation

It is important to know the company behind the metering equipment.  For example: How long have they been in business?  How much experience do they have in manufacturing metering equipment?  What kind of parts do they use, new or recycled?  Do they provide references?  These are some of the questions you should be asking.

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Copyright May 2004 Computerized Meter Manufacturing Corp.  All rights reserved.