What is Smart Metering?
Smart Metering, also known as “Time-of-use” and “interval meters”, allows your electricity distributor to track how much electricity is used by each consumer and what time of day that electricity is used. When combined with flexible pricing, this allows customers to reduce their overall demand for electricity and to shift their consumption to offpeak times such as at night and on weekends.

What is Smart Submetering?
Smart Submetering is normally installed by the building owner. The electricity distributor continues to meter and bill the multi-residential building using a single Master meter. The building owner arranges through a Meter Service Provider to have each unit individually submetered and billed based on actual monthly energy use. Meter Service Provider fees are not regulated and buildings must enter into a lengthy term contract for the submetering services.

Where do you install the meters in multi-resdential buildings?
Smart meters are often installed in electric closets located every few floors, in the basement of the building or, in the case of garden-style housing, the meters can be installed in a main utility closet. In other cases, the most practical location for smart meters may be inside each unit, close to the fuse box or circuit breaker panel.

How are the meters read?
Smart metering systems are most often read remotely from a computer using a modem. Through the computer, a person can dial into the Scan Transponder, which is the central data collector for the system. The Scan Transponder reports back all the data that it previously
collected and stored from the meters at the site, and makes that data available to be downloaded into a software package to calculate tenant electric bills.

If my building isn’t smart metered now, how am I being charged for electricity?
Multi-dwelling buildings and garden-style housing are metered for electricity in one of two ways:

Direct-metered: Each unit is individually metered and billed monthly/bi-monthly directly by the utility. The building receives a bill for electric usage in the common areas (for example, hallways, elevators and lobbies.)

Master-metered: The utility supplies electricity to the building through a single (or in some cases a small number of) metering points. The building receives one electric bill from the utility, and bills residents based on a formula such as total square footage or number of shares
owned. Electric bills are not based on consumption, and there is no incentive to conserve energy since the maintenance bills are the same each month regardless of energy usage.

How do metering systems work?
A meter (or “smart meter”) is installed for each unit of a mulit-dwelling building and measures each unit’s electric consumption. There is a central data collector within the building which collects the metered data from all the individual meters using a patented Power
Line Communications technology. This means that the metered data is communicated over the same electric lines that provide electricity to the residents – no addtional wiring is required. The consumption information is typically communicated from the Scan Transponder to a billing service company via a standard telephone line (although the data can be retrieved via other
communications networks as well.)

What are some of the benefits of smart metering individual units?
Saves energy. Smart metering promotes conservation because residents pay only for the electricity that they use. 60-70% of residents benefit from smart metering; the remaining portion are the heavier users who still pay only for they actually use. When residents are away and using little or no energy, they pay for little or no energy. Smart metering is the most equitable method.

Saves money. Lower energy consumption can result in lower energy bills for the residents and for building owners. In addition, a monthly statement showing electric usage serves as a reminder that residents have control over their energy usage.

Enhances safety and privacy. Smart metering systems are remotely read. No meter readers are required to be on the property to read the meters.

Who provides the electricity to a smart metered building?
The electric company continues to provide electricity to the building.