What Does Submetering Mean? Apartment Submetering Explained
Last reviewed September 2026NES Editorial, checked by the Billing & Compliance team
Submetering means measuring and billing each unit's own water, gas, or electric use with a dedicated meter.
What does submetering mean for an apartment?
Submetering means each unit gets its own meter, placed between the building's main utility meter and the unit, that measures the water, gas, or electricity that unit actually uses. The resident is then billed for their real consumption rather than a flat charge or a share of the whole property's bill. It is a long-established practice, around since the 1920s, and today it is closely regulated by cities, counties, and states. NES is a U.S. submetering company that manages, reads, and bills thousands of units every month for properties with 80 or more units. The reads happen wirelessly every day, and NES keeps up with the rules in each area it serves. For owners, it means recovering utility cost and encouraging conservation, with water use typically dropping 15 to 30 percent.
The plain definition
A submeter is a second meter behind the property's main meter. The main meter tells the utility how much the whole building used. The submeter tells you how much one unit used, so that resident can be billed for exactly their share and nothing more.
What submetering covers
- Water and sewer, gas, or electricity, by unit
- Exact usage instead of flat fees or even splits
- Daily wireless reads handled by NES
- Billing that stays regulated and compliant by location
Related questions
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