Meter Reading

What is a kilowatt-hour (kWh)?

The basic measure for electricity is the kilowatt-hour (kWh).

One (1) kWh is the amount of electrical energy required to operate a 100-watt light bulb for ten hours. Your electric bill indicates the number of kilowatt-hours used as determined by a reading of the PUD 3 electrical meter. The dollar amount of your electric bill is based on this number of kilowatt-hours plus a daily customer charge.

How to read your electric meter

Utility companies calculate energy consumption with electro-mechanical or solid-state watt-hour meters. The dials on your electric meter are similar to clock faces lined in a row (every other dial moves counter clockwise). Read the dials from right to left and write the numbers down in the same order. If the pointer is between numbers, you should record the lower of the two numbers.

When the pointer seems to be directly on a number, look at the dial to the right; if the pointer on the right side dial has passed "0," then write down the number the pointer seems to be on; if the pointer on the right side dial has not passed "0," then write down the previous lower number on the dial you are recording.

The meter below would read 66498 for a five-dial meter.