Submetering Apartments in Arapahoe County, Colorado
Colorado's price transparency law caps what residents can be billed at the actual utility cost, and most billing fees are not allowed. NES installs the submeters, reads them daily, and bills your residents across Arapahoe County. Get a free bid.
NES handles water, gas & electric submetering for apartment communities, condominiums, and mobile home parks across Arapahoe County and the Denver area. Install, meter reading, resident billing, and compliance, all handled in-house since 1968.
Arapahoe County holds Aurora, the second-largest apartment market in the Denver metro, plus Centennial, Englewood, Littleton, and Glendale. Water comes from Aurora Water, Englewood, or Denver Water depending on the city, and Colorado's 2026 rules apply everywhere: residents pay no more than the actual utility bill, one billing fee of 2 percent or $10 a month if the lease allows it, and every new project permitted on or after July 1, 2027 needs a meter on each unit. NES bills at each utility's rate and keeps the fee inside the cap.
Yes. Submetering is allowed in Arapahoe County, Colorado, with some restrictions.
Owners cannot bill residents above the utility's cost, and NES handles the requirements for you.
What we submeter
Water & sewer
Per-unit water and sewer metering with 24-hour leak alerts.
Natural gas
Accurate gas reads and resident billing, kept compliant.
Electric
Electric submetering on nonproprietary meters you own.
Residential water, electric, and gas submetering are allowed in Colorado, and utilities cannot be provided to residents at a profit
Under Colorado's price transparency law (HB 25-1090, effective January 1, 2026), residents cannot be billed more than the actual amount the utility charges
Administrative or billing fees on resident utility bills are generally not allowed in Colorado, and shared or common-area utility costs must be excluded from what residents are allocated rather than passed through
Where the lease provides for it, a limited billing fee is allowed on a utility the owner is billed for by a third party: 2% of the billed amount or $10 per month, but not both (C.R.S. 38-12-801(3)(a)(VI))
Colorado leases must disclose how utilities are billed to residents
For residential premises with building permits applied for on or after July 1, 2027, RUBS billing is not allowed, and each unit's gas, electric, and water service must be metered either by the utility or by a submeter (C.R.S. 6-1-737(4.5), added by HB 26-1013, effective March 26, 2026)
Electric and gas service is provided by regulated utilities such as Xcel Energy or municipal utilities, overseen by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission
Residents are billed for their measured usage, and the bill must show the water billing information
NES tracks the current Colorado requirements so your property stays compliant
Local Arapahoe County requirements
Water is provided by Aurora Water in Aurora, Englewood Utilities in Englewood, and Denver Water in Littleton and Glendale, with sewer through South Platte Renew in the Littleton and Englewood area
Electricity is provided by Xcel Energy in the metro core and CORE Electric Cooperative in the south and east of the county, and natural gas by Xcel Energy
No city in the county adds a rule of its own, so the state fee cap (2 percent or $10 a month, not both) and the at-cost ceiling in C.R.S. 6-1-737 apply, and any project permitted on or after July 1, 2027 must meter every unit
Aurora is the largest apartment market in the county and the second largest in the metro, and NES bills at Aurora Water's rate there
We serve communities across Arapahoe County, including Aurora, Centennial, Englewood, Littleton, Glendale, Greenwood Village, and Sheridan
If Arapahoe County adds a requirement, NES adjusts your billing before it becomes a problem.
How NES keeps you compliant
Tracks every Colorado and local rule that affects your property
General information only, not legal advice; NES assumes no liability for reliance. Confirm current rules with the Colorado PUC or a qualified attorney.
Why owners across the Denver area choose NES for submetering
Per gallon. Residents pay for what they actually use.
15-30%. Lower utility consumption.
Under 24 hr. Catch leaks before they cost thousands.
How NES handles it, end to end
Step 1
Free assessment
We review your master-meter bills and unit count, then model the recovery. No cost, no obligation.
Step 2
Install meters
We install nonproprietary meters at each unit. The equipment is yours, and other companies can read it.
Step 3
Read & detect
Daily reads pull usage automatically and flag leaks within 24 hours, before they run up a bill.
Step 4
Bill & support
We bill residents, pay the master-meter utility, and field resident questions in-house, in English and Spanish.
Real NES results
130-home park, TexasWater & sewer
$6,600 / yr
annual water and sewer cost, down from $120,000
Before submetering$120,000 / yr
After submetering$6,600 / yr
The park also gained more than $113,000 in annual revenue once each home was billed for its own use. Figures from NES property records.
337-unit apartment communityWater
36% lower
water use per unit after submetering
Before submetering100%
After submetering64%
Water use fell 36% once residents paid for their own consumption. Average cost per unit went from $84.72 to $54.22 a month, about 2,000 gallons saved per unit. Figures from NES property records.
Real NES properties. Results vary by property, utility rates, and resident mix.
Submetering in nearby Colorado cities
NES installs and runs submetering across Colorado. See the rules and results for other communities we serve.
Utility submetering puts a meter on each unit that measures and bills its water/sewer, gas, and electric use. The technology has been around since the early 1920s. NES installs the meters, reads them, pays the master-meter bill, and bills your residents, all in-house and with bilingual support.
When residents pay for what they actually use, they cut back. Most properties see 15 to 30 percent lower water use. Submetering also catches leaks early, lets you bill common-area usage accurately, and can raise the value of the property. Payback usually lands within 12 to 18 months.
Yes. Residential water, electric, and gas submetering are allowed in Colorado, and owners cannot bill residents above the actual utility cost. Colorado's price transparency law (HB 25-1090, effective January 1, 2026) confirms that combined resident charges cannot exceed the master utility bill, and most billing fees are not allowed. For residential premises with building permits applied for on or after July 1, 2027, RUBS is not allowed and every unit must be submetered or billed directly by the utility. Electric and gas are provided by regulated utilities under the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. NES tracks every requirement so your property stays compliant.
Residential water, electric, and gas submetering are allowed in Colorado, and utilities cannot be provided to residents at a profit. Utility service itself in Arapahoe County falls under the Colorado PUC. NES tracks the current Colorado and local requirements for your address, so billing is set up to match the rule.
Water is provided by Aurora Water in Aurora, Englewood Utilities in Englewood, and Denver Water in Littleton and Glendale, with sewer through South Platte Renew in the Littleton and Englewood area. NES works with whichever provider serves your property, installs the submeters, reads them, pays the master-meter bill, and bills your residents in-house across the Denver area.
Most submetering installs pay for themselves within 12 to 18 months through the utility cost you recover. We'll run the numbers on your actual master-meter bills and unit count, then send you a clear, no-obligation estimate.
No. NES installs nonproprietary meters that other companies can read, and extended warranties are available on our submeters. You're never locked in.
See what your Arapahoe County property can recover.
Send us your master-meter bills and unit count. We’ll run the numbers on your actual property and get back to you within one business day with a clear, no-obligation estimate.