Smart Electric Meters
Read a smart meter status & usage

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Smart Meter Electric meter reading and decoding:

This article explains how to interpret the common readouts found on digital electric meters.

This article series describes types of electric meters, meter inspection points, and how to read an electric meter. We also discuss electrical arc burns at the meter base and we include case reports of electric meter base overheat and arcing damage, failures, and repairs.

We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need.

Digital or Smart Meter Electric Meters

Photo: above, a digital electric meter in Campo San Maurizio, Venice, Italy in 2018. [Click to enlarge any image]

Our photo above and those below illustrate that digital electric meters or smart meters are provided in a variety of shapes, sizes, and displays.

However all of them will display the same basic information that we will list below.

Smart Meters or “Smart Electric Meters” are digital electric meters that us an LCD display that automatically cycles through the following images:

• Smart Meter Display Test: All 8’s or the numeric digit 8, or on some meters like the one we show here (in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico) the display may display all test characters.

• Electricity Inflow: the cumulative total of electrical usage since the meter was installed, in kilowatt-hours or KWh.
• Electricity Outflow: either 00000 OR if the customer is participating in net metering this number, also in KWh, indicates the quantity of electricity supplied back to the electrical grid by the customer
• Current Date, typically in the U.S. in format MM DD YY for Month Day Year
• Current Time, typically in 24-hour format HH MM
• Status of Electric Service: displaying either CLOSEd – or – SLS: indicating that electrical power is ON, or OPEn: indicating that the electrical power or service has been disconnected. In this case contact your utility company for help.

Question: my outside meter is reading open

2018/08/12 Kia said:

I life in a single mobile home and the landlord has done something to cut power to the house.. the light company said everything is good on there end but my outside meter is reading open

This Q&A were posted originally at MOBILE HOME ELECTRICAL WIRING FAQs

Reply:

Kia:

If your SmartMeter is reading “OPEn”, according to Com Edison’s guide, If the meter display reads “OPEn,” or
“OPN,” your power is disconnected.

You should contact the customer service for your electric utility company or service provider.

Watch out: if your landlord has modified the electric service entry wiring or service drop at your property the result could be unsafe. Ask your utility company to send an expert to the site. Don’t just rely on what their computer tells them.

When calling your electric utility to ask for help with your service or your electric meter, it will be helpful to have the electric meter number, shown on the meter label such as that in our photo above.

Reader Question: Special Smart Meter Mount Arcing Problems in Retrofit Electrical Meter Programs?

4 Sept 2015 THOMAS said:

I have seen comments to the effect that meter base jaws are sized to fit analog meters only, and the blades of SmartMeters are thinner and therefore more subject to arcing. This seems very unlikely to me, but it is often seen in blog comments. Is there any truth at all to this?

Reply: risk of arcing at electrical meter mounting bayonets is addressed by inspection & testing; patent disclosure research.

Interesting question, Thomas.

A scholarly search for research found plenty of research citing the properties of smart electrical meters and no research or papers discussing mounting clip problems. One would *think* that for cost reasons if a replacement meter is to mount on an existing meter base the new meter’s connectors would be sized to fit the existing clips.

In fact loose electrical meter connections is a concern with ANY electrical meter, particularly if the meter has been pulled and replaced as that process might spread the receiving meter connectors. That this is a known concern for all meters is reflected by patent disclosures such as I cite below.

What I infer from this is that there is probably not a special problem with under-sized smart meter bayonets but there might be occurrences of poor connections in removing and plugging in ANY electrical meter, including smart meters being installed to replace older conventional units.

Smart Electric Meter & Smart Meter Installation & Testing Guides

Smart Meters used for electrical use metering and billing are usually accurate, pre-tested, and depending on where you live, your electrical utility company may be required to prove the accuracy of their electric meters before they can be installed.

Depending on where you live you may be served by an electric utility company that charges different rates for electricity usage by time of day. Some electricity usage metering systems or the charges you see for electrical use may then vary depending on your particular pattern of electricity usage versus time of day. Older analog electric meters don’t have the ability to relate usage to time of day.

Watch out: unless you are trained in proper and safe electrical work do not try to dis-assemble, open, or touch any electrical connections, switches, panels, or devices as you could be shocked or killed.

Otherwise, in normal and safe conditions (that is a building is not flooded, storm or earthquake-damaged, etc.) you should be able to operate normal user-operated switches or controls intended for use by a homeowner or building occupant.

Fundamental or Simple Electric Meter Test Procedure

Best solution: if you have any reason to suspect that your electric meter is not working properly, call your electric utility company and ask for help.

Watch out: if your electric meter is hissing, buzzing or arcing it is unsafe; you should avoid touching it or any electrical components and should call your electric utility or a local licensed electrician for emergency help as there may be shock or fire hazards present.

On older dial-type electric meters, a slight mechanical noise is normal and not dangerous.

Simple DIY electric meter “tests”

1. Turn off all use of electricity in the building.

   To do this,
   Turn off the main circuit breaker or fuse that powers your building using the normal homeowner control such as turning off a main circuit breaker or pulling the main fuse block.

   See MAIN ELECTRICAL DISCONNECT

   Watch out

   : do not even touch an electrical panel if it is wet, visibly damaged, or the floor or building is/are wet; Call for help from a licensed electrician instead.

2. Look at the electric meter:

   it should show no electricity usage on its readout.

   If not you have not found the main electrical shut-off or there is other wiring that may be improper or unsafe – Call for help from a licensed electrician

3. Turn your main electrical panel breaker or fuse back on
4. Turn off all circuits in the building: but leave the main breaker or fuse “on” – you should see no electricity usage
5. Turn on one circuit that powers an appliance that uses a lot of electricity such as an electric stove or electric heater
6. Read the wattage consumption rate of the one appliance that is ON, and leave the appliance on for an hour
7. Read the wattage used as displayed by your electric meter and compare it with the watts-per-hour or watt-hour rating of your appliance: the two numbers should be within 5% of one another.
8. Remember to turn other circuits back on.

Use a VOM to measure the Current of an Individual Circuit

If you are trained to do so safely you can use a DMM or VOM to measure the current consumed on an individual circuit and you can, by turning off other circuits, compare that with the electricity usage reported by your electric meter.

AMPS MEASUREMENT METHODS describes how to measure the electricity used on individual circuits

Also see DMMs VOMs SAFE USE OF

Electric Meter Reading & Accuracy Guides

• Con Edison, HOW TO READ A SMART METER [PDF] Commonwealth Edison Company, ComEd Customer Care Center, P.O. Box 805379, Chicago, IL 60680-5379 USA,

  Customer Service Residential: 1-800-Edison-1 (1-800-334-7661),
  Spanish: 1-800-95-Luces (1-800-955-8237)

  Smart Meter Inquiries: 1-866-368-8326 (2018) retrieved 2018/08/12, original source: https://www.comed.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/SmartEnergy/HowToReadASmartMeter.pdf

• Eaton, EATON IQ 250/260 HIGH PERFORMANCE MULTIFUNCTION ELECTRICITY METER [PDF] Eaton
  1000 Eaton Boulevard
  Cleveland, OH 44122
  United States Web: www.eaton.com
• Eaton Power Xpert Meter 2000 Series ELECTRIC METER MANUAL [PDF] (2017) Models PXM 2250
  PXM 2260
  PXM 2270
  PXM 2280
  PXM 2290
  Excerpt;
  The PXM 2250/2260/2270/2280/2290 is a multifunction power and energy
  meter designed to be used in electrical substations, panel boards, and as a
  primary revenue meter, due to its high performance measurement capability. The unit provides multifunction measurement of all electrical parameters
  and makes the data available in multiple formats via display, communication
  systems, and through analog signal transmission.
• Eaton, Power Xpert Meter 4000/6000/8000 ELECTRIC METER IO MANUAL [PDF] (2017) Op. cit.
  Excerpt:
  The Eaton Power Xpert PXM 4000/6000/8000 Meter is a multifunctional revenue-accurate power
  meter providing power quality analysis. It consists of a panel-mounted Display and a Base Meter
  that can be attached to the Display or mounted remotely.
• HOW TO READ RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS METERS [PDF] US DOE publication
• Johnson, David A., and Thomas L. Clarke. “Meter bayonet tool and method of testing tension of meter socket jaws.” U.S. Patent Application 13/709,178, filed December 10, 2012.
  Abstract and patent description excerpts:

  A device for testing tension between the jaws of a meter socket in an electric meter base comprising an aluminum blade having dimension similar to a blade of an electric meter designed to fit in the meter socket jaw, the device further comprising a handle having a proximal end and a distal end, the blade rigidly supported within the distal end, the handle having a weight which is distributed along the handle so that sufficient torque is exerted on the blade when the blade is inserted in a meter socket to be tested that the device rotates downwardly if there is insufficient tension.

  A method of testing tension in a meter socket using the device is also disclosed.

  The present invention relates to test devices, particularly to devices for testing meter socket jaw tension.

  Many millions of electric meters are currently installed at home and business locations. Such meters are either the traditional type or are the relatively newer smart meter type.

  Regardless of type, electric meters comprise a meter base which includes four female socket jaws, alternatively known as female contacts, adapted to engage four corresponding male blades, also known as “bayonets,” projecting from a removable electric meter.

  The electric meter is generally removed from the meter base when electric service is disconnected at the home or business and is also removed from the meter base on a random basis to test the electric meter.

  It is very important to have adequate tension within the meter socket jaw so that when the male meter blades projecting from the electric meter engage the four corresponding female meter base socket jaws, adequate electrical contact is made.

  At least one portable meter socket jaw tester is currently available from Brooks Utility Products Group.

  The Brooks tester includes a circular gauge which measures the pressure required to insert a blade mechanically attached to the gauge into a meter base socket. The Brooks testing device used in this manner provides inaccurate and inconsistent results according to testing by the present inventor.

  The Brooks testing device can be used as a two piece device to check jaw tension by inserting the bayonet end into the meter socket jaw and using the hook to remove the inserted section. The device does give accurate readings when used in this fashion.

  The Brooks testing device is relatively complicated, expensive, and awkward for a Meter Replacement and Repair Technician to carry in a toolbox.
  It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, cost-effective, lightweight, compact, accurate, and reliable device for testing meter socket jaw tension.
  It is also an object of the invention to provide a simple, quick, durable, accurate, reliable, and effective method of testing meter socket jaws for adequate tension.

• Steiner, Richard, Michael Farrell, Shannon Edwards, Joni Ford, and Thomas Nelson. A NIST TESTBED FOR EXAMINING THE ACCURACY OF SMART METERS UNDER HIGH HARMONIC WAVEFORM LOADS [PDF] In 2018 Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements (CPEM 2018), pp. 1-2. IEEE, 2018. Retrieved 2021/10/18 original source: https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2019/NIST.IR.8248.pdf

  Abstract
  Household and industrial electrical energy measurements are advancing into a Smart Grid
  stage, using solid-state watt-hour meters with communication capability, called smart meters.

  As electrical products become heavily based on solid-state designs, such as LED lighting and
  dimmers, electrical loads are not purely resistive, but contain voltage and current spikes,
  introducing relatively high harmonic power to the grid.

  This paper describes a testbed
  laboratory that attempts to model LED household lighting loads, measure the energy by
  smart meter and power analyzer, and correlate offsets to the waveform variations.

  Results
  show that with large current crest factors up to 9, two meters (same manufacturer) out of
  eight tested show an error near 4 %, with a combined uncertainty of ±0.18 %.

  Three meters
  showed no variation outside a 0.07 % standard deviation that was typical for their normal
  repeatability.

  Key words: crest factor; power quality; power system harmonics; power system measurements; smart
  grid; smart watt-hour meters; watt-hour meters

• Total Energies Gas & Power Co., Pearl Assurance House,

  7 New Bridge St W,

  Newcastle upon Tyne,

  NE1 8AQ UK, Web: https://business.totalenergies.uk/ Tel: 0333 003 7874

  Excerpt on Smart Meter Accuracy in the UK

  Smart meters are as accurate as traditional meters. A BEIS study from November 2018 states ‘74% of consumers reported they were satisfied with their overall smart meter experience a year after installation’.

  For more on this, please visit this Government report on the SMART METERING
  IMPLEMENTATION
  PROGRAMME [PDF] (2018)

  By law, all smart meters have to be certified by the Office for Product Safety and Standards to prove their accuracy, but if you do think there’s a fault, you can report it to your energy supplier in the same way you do now.

• WATT-HOUR METER MAINTENANCE AND TESTING [PDF]Vol. 3-10, Dec 2000, Facilities Engineering Branch, Denver Office, Denver CO, US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, retrieved 8/21/14, original source: www.usbr.gov/power/data/fist/fist3_10/vol3-10.pdf

Reader Comments & Q&A

@ ,

Thank you for that additional detail, we’re researching this further.

@InspectApedia-911, Lindsay, OK USA So its a municipality and we purchase our electricity from GRDA ( Grand River Dam Authority) These were smart meters but that’s all that it ever displays.

It will do the all 000 then flash the number with the ST still on right left side and that’s it. So when my meter reads 03541 but my last bill reading had it reading 102060 so my bill had me using almost 3789 usage which saw a huge increase in my bill.

But no one knows or can tell me how these meters are read correclty or if mine is faulty

@Stephanie

I’ll find the instructions for that specific meter so that we can give a more detailed reply. Please also tell us your country and city of location and the name of your electric utility company.

I have a Landis + Gyr Focus kWh type ALF Form 2S CL200 240V 3W 60Hz meter and curious what the S and T means then it reads 03541 but when I received my bill it had a 1 added to the number?

curious what numbers do they take down when reading it? My bill has almost doubled and dont feel like the meters are accurate nor the numbers? Here is a picture of my meter. Any help would be amazing.

@William Smith,

Take a closer look and tell me the model of your Eaton electric meter and we can then review its instructions to be sure we’re answering properly.

EG here is just one of many Eaton meter manuals

EATON IQ 250/260 HIGH PERFORMANCE MULTIFUNCTION ELECTRICITY METER [PDF] web: www.eaton.com

This meter measures and may display instantaneous, average, maximum, and minimum electricity usage.

I have a Eaton brand digital meter on my house. The meter always has one set of numbers. Lately it has been flashing between 3 sets of numbers, what causes this?

@LOUIS BRIAND,

Let’s start by the basic information needed:

country and city of location

name of your local electric company

and it’d be helpful to see a photo of the heater so that we can look at all of its identification data

i have ETS heater so my elect is cheaper at night–Question: my meter on left 001-002-003-004-005-006 which changes every 5 seconds

i want to no how to read it—Cant find this meter on GOOGLE or YOU TUBE. Reply, thanks.

@Sol,

Higher than normal electricity usage when you are confident that nothing in your home is drawing current could be a warning:

The fact that your main breaker tripped without an explanation is a bit of a concern because of the possibility of an inadvertent short circuit or bad electrical wiring that could be unsafe. So you might want an electrician to inspect your panel and wiring.

First try turning off circuits and appliances in your building one by one to see if that makes an immediate change in what you’re seeing at the electric meter if it does that might indicate where the problem lies.

My electrical meter is constantly reading for the GSS a 04 while my neighbors are all on 09 throughout the day. The apt complex gave me fans to use since the AC not working well but should I be worried about our electricity usage as it is always on peak?

The breaker turned off automatically about 4 days ago. I don’t even have washer and dryer connected yet.

@Glenn Brooks,

We’ve added some suggestions for checking the accuracy of your smart meter at the end of the article above; please take a look.

How can I verify that my smart meter is correct? As far as I can tell it is reporting exactly twice the amount I am using. I am supplied by SCE in Santa Clarita, CA.

no not directly

is the amperage draw indicated on meter readings

Neeraj,

Your SmartMeter domestic electric meter shows the kilowatts flowing into the meter as a digital number .

Electricity Inflow: the cumulative total of electrical usage since the meter was installed, in kilowatt-hours or KWh.

Are you asking how you would verify that the electric meter is correct?

How to check running Watts in smart domestic meters

…

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