Submetering Apartments in Hillsborough County, Florida
Most Hillsborough County apartment communities sit on a single City of Tampa Water Department master meter, and the owner eats the bill. NES installs the submeters, reads them daily, pays the master-meter bill, and bills your residents for their own use. Get a free bid.
NES handles water, gas & electric submetering for apartment communities, condominiums, and mobile home parks across Hillsborough County and the Tampa area. Install, meter reading, resident billing, and compliance, all handled in-house since 1968.
Tampa is NES's home market. Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa both supply water, Tampa Electric covers power, and TECO Peoples Gas covers gas, and NES has billed communities on all of them for decades from its office across the bay. Florida's 367.022 rule sets the ceiling on every resident bill: the utility's actual charge plus up to 9 percent for meter reading and billing. New communities from downtown and Channelside to Brandon, Riverview, and Wesley Chapel are the fastest-growing part of the portfolio here.
Yes. Submetering is allowed in Hillsborough County, Florida, with some restrictions.
Owners who bill at no more than the utility's actual charge are exempt from Florida PSC regulation, and local rules vary by city, so 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.
Water, sewer, and electric submetering are allowed in Florida at the state level; gas is the exception, since Florida PSC rule 25-7.058 bars reselling gas from a PSC-regulated gas utility
Florida law lets owners submeter water and sewer and bill residents at no more than the utility's actual charge, plus a surcharge of up to 9 percent of the actual cost of water and wastewater service, limited to the actual cost of meter reading and billing (Section 367.022(9))
Owners who stay within those limits are exempt from Florida Public Service Commission regulation under Section 367.022, Florida Statutes
Electric submetering is allowed under the Florida PSC's master-metering rule (Fla. Admin. Code R. 25-6.049), which lets the owner apportion the utility's billed cost and recover no more than that; new construction after 1981 must be individually metered
Billing fees are not allowed on electric or gas, so those pass through at the utility's actual cost
County and city rules vary, and several Florida cities require registration or limit what residents can be billed, which NES tracks for your address
Local Hillsborough County requirements
Water and sewer service comes from the City of Tampa Water Department and Hillsborough County Public Utilities, depending on the address
Electricity is provided by Tampa Electric (TECO), and natural gas by TECO Peoples Gas
An owner who submeters and bills residents generally cannot charge more than the utility's cost
We serve communities across Hillsborough County, including Tampa, Brandon, Riverview, Plant City, Temple Terrace, Town 'n' Country, Carrollwood, and Apollo Beach
NES is headquartered in the Tampa Bay area, so this is home, and we verify the rules for your exact address before we start
How NES keeps you compliant
Tracks every Florida and local rule that affects your property
General information only, not legal advice; NES assumes no liability for reliance. Confirm current rules with the Florida PSC or a qualified attorney.
Why owners across the Tampa 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
140-home community, New MexicoWater & sewer
$264 / yr
owner's annual water and sewer cost, down from $26,400
Before submetering$26,400 / yr
After submetering$264 / yr
The owner had been absorbing the whole master-meter bill. After metering each home, residents paid for what they used. Figures from NES property records.
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.
Real NES properties. Results vary by property, utility rates, and resident mix.
Submetering in nearby Florida cities
NES installs and runs submetering across Florida. 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. Florida law lets owners submeter water and sewer and bill residents at no more than the utility's actual charge, plus a surcharge of up to 9 percent of the actual cost of water and wastewater service, limited to the actual cost of meter reading and billing (Section 367.022(9)). Owners who stay within those limits are exempt from Florida Public Service Commission regulation under Section 367.022, Florida Statutes. Electric submetering falls under the PSC's master-metering rule, and billing fees are not allowed on electric or gas. Local rules vary by county and city, and NES tracks every requirement so your property stays compliant.
Water, sewer, and electric submetering are allowed in Florida at the state level; gas is the exception, since Florida PSC rule 25-7.058 bars reselling gas from a PSC-regulated gas utility. Utility service itself in Hillsborough County falls under the Florida PSC. NES tracks the current Florida and local requirements for your address, so billing is set up to match the rule.
Water and sewer service comes from the City of Tampa Water Department and Hillsborough County Public Utilities, depending on the address. 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 Tampa 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 Hillsborough 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.