Important Facts About Meter Reading
The
reading of your meter is perhaps one of the most important phases of
determining your bill. While you may sometimes doubt that your meter is
inaccurately read, this is hardly the case in most instances. Find out
more about this important activity below, including how to do it
yourself.
What is a Meter reader?
He is Meralco’s business partner. Meter
readers usually read your meter anytime within the week of your bill
date. For example, if your bill date is on June 10, the meter reader
will visit your home anytime from the 8th to the 12th of the next month. Meter
readers undergo trainings and seminars conducted regularly by Meralco.
They must be of good moral character and must have finished at least
high school.
What are his tools?
The
Rover 2000 is a handheld microcomputer that stores the meter reading
data of every customer. It validates that the data entered is complete
and accurate and within the range of the customer’s history of electric
consumption. Binoculars are also standard issue
to meter readers for meters that are inaccessible, installed in
elevated places or located in distant areas. These binoculars have a field view ranging from 87M/1000M to 314M/1000M.
What is an Electric Meter?
The watt-hour meter installed in your home is a precision device that measures the electricity consumption of your household. The
meter is factory tested, re-tested and sealed by the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) for accuracy in registering the electric consumption. The meter has a minimum of four small dials that record your electricity consumption. Each dial is numbered from zero to nine. Electricity
flowing through the meter moves the hands by measuring kilowatthours.
The meter records the number of kilowatthours used in a given billing
period.
How do I read my meter?
Reading your meter is as easy as one, two, three!
Step 1
Stand
directly in front of your meter and look at the four dials (A,B, C and
D). Note that adjacent dials move in opposite directions. Dials A and C
move counter-clockwise while Dials B and D move in a clockwise
direction. |
 |
 |
 |
| A | B | C | D |
Step 2
Read
the meter starting from the rightmost dial. First, read Dial D followed
by Dials C, B, and A. Write down the numbers that the pointers have
passed in each of the four dials. In this example, the reading on the
meter is 5941.Remember:
- When a pointer is directly pointing to a number in any of the dials, always consult the dial on its right. Look at the example on Figure 1. The pointer on Dial C points directly at 5, that’s why we should look at Dial D to determine the reading of Dial C.
- If the pointer of Dial D points directly at 0 or between 0 and 1, then Dial C will be read as 5.
- But if the pointer of Dial D points between 9 and 0, then Dial C will be read as 4.
| Fig. 1 | |
 |
 |
| C | D |
| Fig. 2 | |
|
|
| C = 5 | D = 1 |
| Fig. 3 | |
 |
 |
| C = 4 | D = 9 |
Step 3
Write
down your meter’s new reading and this will be the “present reading”.
Look for the previous reading, which can be found on your bill. Then,
subtract your meter’s previous reading from the present reading. The
difference is the number of kilowatt hours that your household has
consumed since your last billing period.| Example | |
| Present reading | 6649 |
| Previous reading | 6532 |
| KWh Elecricity used | 117 |
SOURCE: www.meralco.com.ph
