UNDERSTANDING YOUR RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC METER
Your electric meter is designed to accurately measure the amount of electricity your home is using. At Kiwash Electric, we understand how important accurate meter reading and billing is to our customers. The following information will help you understand how your meter works and how you can assist our meter readers to read and record your meter reading each month.
kWh
The electricity you buy from Kiwash Electric is measured in kilowatt-hours. This measure reflects the number of kilowatts of electricity you use in a given period of time. A kilowatt is equal to 1,000 watts. If you turn on ten 100-watt light bulbs for one hour, you will use one kilowatt-hour of electricity. The electric meter on your home measures the number of kilowatt-hours of electricity you use each month to heat your home and power your lights, water heater, refrigerator, television, clock radio and other appliances. Your meter may be either a dial meter or a digital meter.
SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH MY METER!
Think something might be wrong with your meter? Please give us a call! Tampering with an electric meter is dangerous. Touching an energized meter socket could cause serious injury or death. Meter tampering also constitutes a criminal offense, which could result in fines or imprisonment. If you suspect a problem with your meter, please don’t tamper with it! Please call our Customer Service Center at 1-888-832-3362 for assistance.
READING YOUR METER
Kiwash Electric Cooperative collects meter readings in three ways.
- ELECTRONICALLY
One out of five meters in KEC's system report usage to our office using Automated Meter Reading (AMR) technology. - MEMBER SUBMITTED METER READINGS
Many of our members submit their own monthly meter readings. Readings can be submitted when you mail payment on your account, or you may speak with any of our Member Service Representatives. Each consumer must report an actual meter reading each month. If a meter reading is not reported, your account will be estimated and $.75 will be added to your bill for each estimation. If your account is estimated for two consecutive months, the meter will be read by your Kiwash servicemen and an $85.00 charge will be added to your account for reading the meter. Instructions for reading both Dial Meters and Digital Meters are detailed below. - Employees may read your meter
DIAL METER
A dial meter has on its face a revolving disk and a series of dials and pointers. When an electric current passes through the meter, the disk rotates at a speed that depends on the watts of electricity you’re using at the time. The more electricity you use, the faster the disk moves. Each revolution of the disk measures a precise amount of electricity and the measurement is shown by the position of the pointers on the dials.
Some meters have four dials; some have five dials. Each dial has 10 numbers and a pointer and is numbered in an alternating clockwise and counter clockwise manner. The pointers follow the direction of the numbers and advance only when you are using electricity.
HOW TO READ YOUR DIAL METER
- Stand directly in front of your meter.
- Read and record each dial starting from the right and moving left
- When the dial pointer is between two numbers, record the smaller number (the number the pointer has just passed).
- When the pointer seems to be directly on the number, look at the dial to the right. If the pointer on the dial to the right has passed zero (0), write down the number for the left dial which the pointer seems to be on. If the pointer on the dial to the right has not passed zero, the pointer on the left dial is not yet directly on the number, so record the lower number.
Here's an example:
- Dial 1 is on 1; record 1
- Dial 2 is on 0; record 0
- Dial 3 is on 8; record 8
- Dial 4 is between 7 and 8; record 7
- Dial 5 is on 2 but dial 4 hasn’t made the full revolution
to 0; record 1
The reading is 17801.
Now a second example:
- Dial 1 is between 1 and 2; record 1
- Dial 2 is between 1 and 2; record 1
- Dial 3 is between 0 and 9; record 9
- Dial 4 is between 0 and 9; record 9
- Dial 5 is on 2 but dial 4 hasn’t made the full revolution
to 0; record 1
The reading on this meter is 19911.
| Current Reading | 19911 | |
| Previous Reading | - 17801 | |
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| kWh's Used | 2110 | x Rate = Energy Charge |
Your monthly Kiwash Electric electric bill will tell you your current and previous meter reading, and the dates of those readings.
DIGITAL METERS
A digital meter measures the amount of electricity you used and displays this usage on a liquid crystal display (LCD).
HOW TO READ YOU DIGITAL METER
A digital meter records electricity usage in the same manner that a car's odometer records mileage. You read the numbers from left to right.
In the illustration, the September reading is 52316 kilowatt-hours.
The October reading is 53859 kilowatt-hours.
| October Reading | 53859 | |
| September Reading | - 52316 | |
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| kWh's Used | 1543 | x Rate = Energy Charge |
Your monthly Kiwash Electric electric bill will tell you your current and previous meter reading, and the dates of those readings.