Reading your meter

Dial meters

Clock-face dial meters have four, five or six dials, which alternate in direction. 

To read theses meters, stand directly in front of the meter. 

Starting from the right, read each dial and write down the figures. 

When a dial hand points between two numbers, write down the lower of the two.
If the hand points between 0 and 1 write down 0, but if the hand points between 0 and 9, write down 9.

For example, the reading in diagram one is 2-7-0-3-8, that is, 27,038 kilowatt hours (units).

Diagram one 

Diagram two

When a dial hand appears to be exactly on a number as on dial (D) in diagram two, look at dial (C) to the right.  If the hand on dial (C) has not passed 0, the number 5 has not actually been reached on dial (D) and the reading on that dial is the next lower number, 4.  The reading in diagram 2 is 0-4-9-8-1. That is 4,981 kilowatt hours (units).

 

Digital meters

The electro-mechanical digital display meters have a six-digit display similar to the odometer of your motor vehicle.

To read these meters you simply write down the figures that are displayed.

1000000	100000	1000	100	10	1
0	5	9	7	4	5

Electronic Meters

Electronic meters have a six-digit liquid display register.  The register can be static or can automatically step through a sequence of displays or channels depending on the tariff for the customer.  A number that appears at the top right-hand end of the register identifies each display or channel.

For those meters on a standard residential or commercial tariff (A1, L1, K1 or M1), where the registers stay static you simply write down the numbers that are displayed.

For those meters that are on Time of Use tariffs the meter register displays/channels are:

Channel	Name / Description
01	Meter Code
02	Meter Serial Number
03	Programme ID Number
04	Time
05	Date
06	Kilowatt hours/Pulse
07	Total Kilowatt hours
08	Present Demand
09	Reset Number
10	On Peak Kilowatt Hours
11	On Peak Indicative Demand
12	On Peak Cumulative Demand
20	Off Peak Kilowatt Hours
21	Off Peak Indicative Demand
22	Off Peak Cumulative Demand
30	Weekdays Shoulder Kilowatt Hours
40	Weekends Shoulder Kilowatt Hours

 

Customers on R1 tariff need to write down the figures from channels 10 and 20.

Customers on SM1 (Smart Power) tariff need to write down the figures from channels 10, 20, 30 and 40.

Customers on time-based Demand tariffs S1 and T1 need to record channels 10, 12, 20 and 22.

Not all channels are displayed on all meters.  This depends on the tariff.