Most Nashville apartment communities sit on one Metro Water Services master meter, and the owner pays for every gallon. NES (National Exemption Service) installs the submeters, reads them daily, pays the master-meter bill, and bills each resident for their own use. NES is a private submetering and billing company, not connected to Nashville Electric Service. Get a free bid.
NES handles water, gas & electric submetering for apartment communities, condominiums, and mobile home parks across Nashville and the Nashville area. Install, meter reading, resident billing, and compliance, all handled in-house since 1968.
On a Nashville apartment property, water is one of the operating costs an owner can actually do something about. Metro Water Services bills on an increasing block rate. The first 2 CCF a month are in the base charge, then water runs $4.20 per CCF for 3 to 6 CCF, $5.05 for 7 to 10, and $6.31 past 11, with sewer a flat $7.02 per CCF on top. Metro adds a 10 percent infrastructure replacement fee to both, state law adds 9.25 percent sales tax on the water, and rates rose 3 percent on January 1, 2026. On a master meter, one heavy-use unit pushes the whole building into the top block. NES meters each unit and bills it at Metro's own rate structure, so residents pay for their own usage instead of the owner.
Yes. Submetering is allowed in Nashville, Tennessee, and is governed by the lease.
Tennessee has no submetering statute, so the lease governs. NES writes the billing terms into it before the first bill goes out.
What we submeter
Water & sewer
Per-unit water and sewer metering with 24-hour leak alerts.
Natural gas
Gas meters on each unit, read and billed the same way as water.
Electric
Electric submetering on nonproprietary meters you own.
Rules & compliance
Submetering rules & laws in Nashville
Governing rule: lease terms · no submetering statute
Tennessee state rules
Tennessee has no submetering-specific statute, so submetering water, gas, and electric is governed by the lease and general contract law
Memphis is the exception: NES does not offer submetered or RUBS billing in MLGW's service area. MLGW's service policy limits any assignment of utility service to the exact amount of the bill and requires its consent before any sub-metering
An owner billing only its own residents is not a utility "dedicated to the public use" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 65-4-101(6)(A), so TPUC certification does not apply
The lease should state the billing method, what is charged, and any administrative fee, before a resident is billed for it
Residents should be billed for their measured usage, with the charges and meter readings shown clearly on the bill
Local utilities set their own service rules, and NES verifies those for your address
Local Nashville requirements
Water and sewer are provided by Metro Water Services, on the tiered rates described above
Electricity is provided by Nashville Electric Service, the local public power utility, which is a separate organization from NES, and natural gas by Piedmont Natural Gas
Tennessee has no submetering statute, so the lease sets the billing method, the charges, and any administrative fee, and NES puts those terms in the lease addendum before the first bill goes out
We serve Nashville and the rest of Davidson County, including Antioch, Bellevue, Donelson, Hermitage, Madison, Germantown, The Gulch, and Midtown
Tennessee rules change from time to time. NES keeps track and updates your billing when they do.
How NES keeps you compliant
Tracks every Tennessee and local rule that affects your property
General information only, not legal advice; NES assumes no liability for reliance. Confirm current rules with the Tennessee Public Utility Commission or a qualified attorney.
Why owners in Middle Tennessee use NES
Per gallon. Residents pay for what they actually use.
15-30%. Lower utility consumption.
Under 24 hr. Leaks flagged the same day.
What happens after you call
Step 1
Free assessment
We review your master-meter bills and unit count, then model what you would recover. There is no charge for this.
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
34% lower
water use per unit after submetering
Before submetering100%
After submetering66%
Water use fell 34% once residents paid for their own consumption, from 5,846 to 3,868 gallons per unit per month. Average cost per unit went from $84.72 to $54.22 a month, a 36% drop. Figures from NES property records.
Real NES properties. Results vary by property, utility rates, and resident mix.
Submetering in nearby Tennessee cities
NES installs and runs submetering across Tennessee. 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. 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.
In most of the state, yes. Tennessee has no statute specific to submetering, so the lease governs how residents are billed. An owner billing only its own residents is not a utility "dedicated to the public use" under Tenn. Code Ann. § 65-4-101(6)(A), so no TPUC certification is needed. Memphis is the exception: NES does not offer submetered or RUBS billing in MLGW's service area, whose service policy allows only at-cost apportionment with the utility's consent. Elsewhere, what matters is that the lease sets out the billing method and any administrative fee before residents are billed, and that bills show measured usage clearly. NES sets that up and keeps it consistent.
Tennessee has no submetering-specific statute, so submetering water, gas, and electric is governed by the lease and general contract law. Utility service itself in Nashville falls under the Tennessee Public Utility Commission. NES tracks the current Tennessee and local requirements for your address, so billing is set up to match the rule.
Water and sewer are provided by Metro Water Services, on the tiered rates described above. 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 Nashville 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 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.
See what your Nashville 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 an estimate.