Reading Your Electric Meter

Florida Public Utilities Northeast Division uses both four and five dial meters that look similar to clock faces. In this meter, the right dial measures kWh. This means that the appliances have to use 1000 watt-hours to move the dial's point one number. When this dial completes one revolution, the dial to the left advances one number. The first, third and fifth dials move clockwise; the second and fourth dials move counter clockwise.

To read your meter, read the dials right to left, writing down the numbers in the same order. In the diagram below, look at the first dial on your right, it's turning clockwise and the hand is in between the six and the seven. When the dial pointer is between two numbers, write down the lower of the two numbers. You want to record the number that the hand has just passed - in this case, six. Continuing from your right, the second dial is turning counter clockwise and is just past the five, so the next number you write down is five. Continue this method with the following three dials for a complete reading.

The correct reading for this meter is 73256.

When a dial pointer appears to be exactly on a number, look back at the dial to the right. If the pointer on that dial has passed zero, that indicates the dial has made a complete revolution and you should record the number the pointer is on. If it has not passed zero, record the next lowest number to the pointer.

Four-dial meters may be set to record a percentage of the electricity you use. If so, your meter may have a multiplying factor printed in red on the meter below the dials, such as "multiply by 20" or "x40". If you have this type of meter, find the difference between your present reading and the following day's reading and multiply that number by your meter's multiplying factor to determine the actual number of kilowatt-hours used.