Important Meter Information

Please, remember to keep the area around your meter(s) clear. Do not pile boxes and other debris in front of the meter, and look to see if shrubs or branches make it difficult to access the meter(s). If you can’t reach it, neither can we. And please remember to keep your dogs inside on the day the meter reader is scheduled. Your dog may be your best friend, but he can present a serious threat to a meter reader or service technician!

Snow Removal From Meters

It is important to keep the area around the meter free from snow. Fire departments and other emergency response agency personnel must have access to meters in case of an emergency shut-off situation. NPU Meter Readers also need access to the meters if customers want to avoid an estimated bill.

When removing snow around meters:

1. Make sure you know the exact location of your meter before you begin to remove snow
2. Maintain a safe distance between gas meters and shovels, snow blowers, and other equipment while shoveling
3. NEVER push snow against meters, gas piping, or appliance vents (make sure all vents are free of snow or other obstructions)
4. NEVER pile snow on top of meters, gas piping, or appliance vents

All natural gas customers should be aware that gas meters that are buried in deep snow or damaged by snow removal equipment could begin to leak. Gas meter leaks are a potentially hazardous situation.

1. Electricity usage is measured in kWh (kilowatt hours). Natural gas is measured in CCF (100’s of cubic feet). Your meter will have 4 or 5 dials. Think of the dials like number columns – the farthest right dial is the 1’s column, the second from the right is the 10’s column and so on.
2. The dials work like the odometer in your car – a hand must go around ten times to cause the hand on the dial to the left of it to go around once.
3. The dials beside each other rotate in opposite directions. Start with farthest LEFT dial.
4. If the hand is in between 2 numbers, record the number that the hand has just passed or the smaller of the 2 numbers. Make sure you are standing directly in front of the dial to get the correct reading. Also ensure that you record the numbers in the proper order- from left to right. The exception to this rule is if the hand is in between 9 and 0. In this case, record the number 9.
5. If the hand is exactly on a number, look at the dial to the right – if the hand on the right dial is on or has just passed the 0 then record the number on the left dial. If the hand on the right dial is just approaching the 0, read the lower number on the left dial, not the number that hand is actually on.
6. To record how much electricity you use, you need to take a reading again later. For example, if you read your meter 1 week later at the about the same time, you will record a new number. Simply subtract the old number from the new number to get the total kilowatt hours of power you used:

Usage = This week subtract last week = 13659-13424 = 235kWh

To find out how much that usage cost, multiply the amount of kWh by the rate per kWh.

You can use this same technique to read your gas meter.

Once your meter is read, you call in the reading to our 24-hour voice mail system at 860-823-4123.

In some cases, customers may have a remote meter reading device installed outside their home. The remote reading device, or “read-o”, displays the readings from the inside meter by recording a pulse that is transmitted through a connecting wire. Your inside meter is the actual measuring device. You should verify that the outside reading is the same as the inside reading. If there are discrepancies between the remote device and the actual meter, your account may have been billed incorrectly and the remote meter may need to be replaced. A NPU meter reader will need to have access to the inside meters several times a year to verify that the remote reader is accurate.

SUB METERING (UTILITY SERVICES)

Except as otherwise provided, utility services furnished by Norwich Public Utilities (“NPU”) shall not be resold or sub metered. The owner or operator of a recreational campground, mobile home park or marina may submeter electric and/or water service to campground sites within the recreational campground, mobile homes within the mobile home park, or individual boat slips at the marina (each a “sub metered party”, collectively, the “sub metered parties”).  A recreational campground, mobile home park or marina owner or operator may charge a sub metered party only for electricity or water used by that sub metered party.  Electric and water services utilized by the sub metered party may not be disconnected for nonpayment of sub metered bill.  In all submetering cases, including those not authorized by this provision, the sub metered parties are not considered NPU customers.  For this reason, all submetering disputes, including billing disputes, shall be resolved between the NPU customer and its sub metered parties.   NPU reserves the right to take any action permitted by law against NPU customers upon the discovery of any violation of or non-compliance with this submetering provision.