Utility submetering puts a meter on each unit that measures and bills its water/sewer 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. Daily reads also catch leaks early, and common-area water stops getting spread across everyone's rent. Payback usually lands within 12 to 18 months.
Yes, for water and sewer, under strict conditions. State law (M.G.L. c. 186 s. 22) allows submetering when a licensed plumber installs the meters, every unit has conservation fixtures, the setup is certified to the local board of health, and a new tenancy starts with a written lease that provides for it. Residents pay only the water company's rate, with no administrative, billing, or other fee, and formula (RUBS) billing is not allowed. The Department of Public Utilities does not allow reselling electricity or gas, so those stay with the utility in the resident's name. NES sets up and runs water billing to those rules.
Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 186 s. 22) allows water and sewer submetering only under strict conditions: meters installed by a licensed plumber, conservation fixtures in every unit, certification to the local board of health, a new tenancy with a written lease, and billing at the water company's rate with no administrative, billing, or other fee. Formula (RUBS) billing for water is not allowed. Utility service itself in Boston falls under the Massachusetts DPU. NES tracks the current Massachusetts and local requirements for your address, so billing is set up to match the rule.
Water and sewer service in Boston comes from the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, which buys wholesale water from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. 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 Greater Boston.
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 an estimate. You are not signing anything.
No. NES installs nonproprietary meters that other companies can read, The meters are yours, and extended warranties are available if you want one.