Most Toledo apartment communities sit on a single City of Toledo Department of Public Utilities (DPU) 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 Toledo and the Toledo area. Install, meter reading, resident billing, and compliance, all handled in-house since 1968.
Toledo rewrote its rules in 2021. Under Municipal Code 933.06, an owner cannot bill tenants for city water or sewer unless the property has a contract with the Department of Public Utilities that requires a submeter on every unit, and formula billing is named in the ordinance and prohibited. The penalty is $200 for every bill sent in violation, and it cannot be passed to residents. NES sets up the DPU contract, meters each unit, and bills at the city's rate, which is the only path Toledo leaves open.
Yes. Submetering is allowed in Toledo, Ohio, with some restrictions.
Toledo allows submetered water billing only under a contract with the Department of Public Utilities, and NES handles the contract, the meters, and the billing.
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.
Rules & compliance
Submetering rules & laws in Toledo
Governing rule: PUCO · Ohio Rev. Code Title 49
Ohio state rules
Ohio has no statute that squarely addresses residential submetering, so water and electric submetering are in wide use, with residents billed for their measured usage
In April 2026 the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Ohio Power Co. v. Nationwide Energy Partners that a third-party company reselling electricity to residents is a public utility regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO)
PUCO is still working out what that ruling requires of submetering companies, and a bill that would have replaced it was vetoed in June 2026
NES bills residents at the utility's own rate with no markup on the energy
Bills should clearly show the charges and meter readings, and common-area usage is handled separately
NES tracks the current PUCO requirements so your property stays compliant
Local Toledo requirements
Water and sewer are provided by the City of Toledo Department of Public Utilities (DPU)
Electricity is provided by Toledo Edison (FirstEnergy), and natural gas by Columbia Gas of Ohio
Toledo Municipal Code 933.06 (Ord. 359-21) bars reselling DPU water to tenants unless the owner has a contract with the Department of Public Utilities that requires a submeter on every rental unit. Formula (RUBS) billing is named in the ordinance and prohibited
Billing in violation can draw a $200 penalty per bill sent, and the penalty cannot be passed to residents, so NES sets up the DPU contract and meters each unit before the first bill
We serve Toledo and nearby communities, including downtown and the Warehouse District, the Old West End, Point Place, South Toledo, West Toledo, and Reynolds Corners
Our compliance team rechecks Ohio and local requirements before billing starts.
How NES keeps you compliant
Tracks every Ohio and local rule that affects your property
General information only, not legal advice; NES assumes no liability for reliance. Confirm current rules with the PUCO or a qualified attorney.
Why owners across northwest Ohio 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 Ohio cities
NES installs and runs submetering across Ohio. 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, it is in wide use, and no Ohio statute prohibits it. In April 2026 the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Ohio Power Co. v. Nationwide Energy Partners that a third-party company reselling electricity to residents is a public utility regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, and the commission is still working out what that means for submetering companies. NES bills residents at the utility's own rate with no markup on the energy and tracks every requirement so your property stays compliant.
Ohio has no statute that squarely addresses residential submetering, so water and electric submetering are in wide use, with residents billed for their measured usage. Utility service itself in Toledo falls under the PUCO. NES tracks the current Ohio and local requirements for your address, so billing is set up to match the rule.
Water and sewer are provided by the City of Toledo Department of Public Utilities (DPU). 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 Toledo 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 Toledo 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.