Electric Meter

The OMU meter at your home or business monitors your daily power usage. Each month, a meter reader records that usage so you will be billed accordingly. The exact date it is read can be found on your bill.

The most common type of meter used by OMU is the digital meter, as shown here.

However, for dial-type meters, read the dials from right to left according to the direction of the arrow. Follow these guidelines when reading the dials:

If the pointer is between two numbers, record the lowest number (unless it is between 9 and 0 and then you should record the 9).

If the pointer is directly on a number, look at the dial to the right. If the pointer is between 9 and 0, record the smaller number. If it is between 0 and 1, record the larger number.

After you have recorded the numbers for each dial, read them from left to right. If you have any questions about how to read your meter, please contact us.

What Happens When An Electric or Water Meter Malfunctions?

Electric and water meters typically run for several years on the same home or business without failing – they are very reliable. If a meter does develop a problem, however, it will usually run slower than normal and record lower than actual usage or quit recording at all. It is extremely rare for a meter to run faster.

Water Meter

Most OMU water meters are like odometers and are read from left to right, rounding off the last two numbers to the nearest hundred. They register in cubic feet. One cubic foot is equal to 7.48 gallons. The red hand or sweep hand makes one full turn to record one cubic foot.

The small triangle on the sweep hand is used to detect small leaks. Turn off all the faucets in your home and check this triangle to see if it is turning. If it is, it would indicate you may have a leak in your plumbing. The most common leak is a faulty commode valve.