Reading Our Meter
Our electric meter measures your use of electricity in units called kilowatt-hours or kWh. One kWh is 1,000 watts used for one hour (the same as ten 100-watt bulbs left on for one hour).
Types of Electric Meters
There are three types of residential electric meters. Standard meters usually have five dials. Digital meters and AMI “Smart Meters” have 5 or 6 numbers displaying the meter reading in a digital format. Meter readers use special handheld units to record data. In some areas, Dominion has installed meters that transmit electricity usage information to specially-equipped company vehicles.
Some residential customers on special rates may have a different meter that not only monitors usage, but also collects data in thirty-minute intervals. This device, known as an interval data recorder (IDR), puts a date and time stamp on the data it collects, recording the exact date and time electricity is consumed. Due to the recent passage of the Energy Act, which resulted in a Daylight Savings Time change in 2007, these meters are being deployed for Time-of-Use (TOU) customers. If you're on a special rate, you can view your meter summary data when you manage your account online.
Understanding the Dials on Standard Meters
The dials on the front of an electric meter work like the odometer on your car. When the hand on one dial makes a complete circle, the hand on the dial to its left moves up one number.
The meter has four or five dials with the numbers 0 to 9. The pointers rotate in different directions. Read the dials from left to right. When the pointer is between 0 and 9, the reading would be 9. If the pointer is directly on a number, look at the next dial on the right. If that pointer has not reached 0, the reading of the dial at the left is the lower number. If it has passed 0, the reading is the higher number.
In this example, the meter reads 19666.
Subtract the reading taken on an earlier date - or the reading on your latest bill - from the current reading to get the number of kilowatt hours you've used since the earlier reading. To practice, use the Interactive Electric Meter below.
Interactive Electric Meter
With your mouse, position each pointer as they appear on the meter. The meter reading will be shown below.
Reading an AMI Meter
Beginning in 2009, Dominion began installing AMI “smart meters” in portions of its service territory. For customers that have an AMI meter on a standard residential rate, the following information applies to how to read your meter.
AMI Smart Meters have a digital LCD screen that cycles through three screens, the “kwh” screen, the local area communications path screen and the maintenance screen.
The “kWh” screen shows the customer the cumulative consumption of the AMI Smart Meter at this location. Use this reading in conjunction with the last bill to calculate your current usage. EX: last bill meter reading was 1000 kWh and the current reading is 1200 kWh then the difference is 200 kWh in usage since your last meter reading.
The Local Area Communications path of the AMI meter to the collector meter is a function for Dominion to know to which communications device your meter is communicating.
The maintenance screen of the AMI meter is for Dominion field personnel should there be a need to do a site visit to the customer’s home.
