Submetering Apartments in Panama City Beach, Florida
Most Panama City Beach apartment communities sit on a single City of Panama City Beach Utilities 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 Panama City Beach and the Bay County. Install, meter reading, resident billing, and compliance, all handled in-house since 1968.
Panama City Beach wrote its own rule for apartment water billing, and it is a good one for owners who do it properly. Code Section 23-32 allows a landlord to bill each unit only through a submeter on that unit, at no more than the City's own rate, and only an independent third-party billing service may add an administrative fee, inside a cap the City Council sets. That is the NES model exactly: meters on every unit, bills at the City rate, the fee disclosed and capped. Vacant units, common areas, and irrigation stay on the owner's side of the ledger, which NES separates out in every read.
Yes. Submetering is allowed in Panama City Beach, Florida, with some restrictions.
Panama City Beach allows submetered water billing at the City's rate through an independent billing service, and NES handles the meters, the billing, and the fee cap.
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 Panama City Beach requirements
Water and sewer are provided by the City of Panama City Beach Utilities Department, whose service area runs from Lake Powell to the Hathaway Bridge, with Bay County Utility Services in the rest of the county
Electricity is provided by FPL Northwest Florida, and natural gas by TECO Peoples Gas
City Code 23-32 bars reselling city water or sewer with one exception: a landlord who installs a submeter on each unit may bill that unit no more than the City itself would charge it. Vacant units, common areas, and irrigation stay with the owner
An administrative fee is allowed only when an independent third-party billing service does the billing, capped per unit per billing cycle at an amount set by City Council resolution. NES is that third party, and bills inside the cap
We serve Panama City Beach and nearby areas, including Front Beach Road, Pier Park, Thomas Drive, Laguna Beach, Breakfast Point, and Panama City
NES confirms the rules for your address before the first meter goes in.
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 Emerald Coast 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 Panama City Beach 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 are provided by the City of Panama City Beach Utilities Department, whose service area runs from Lake Powell to the Hathaway Bridge, with Bay County Utility Services in the rest of the county. 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 Bay County.
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 Panama City Beach 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.