The OMU meter at your home monitors your daily power usage. Each month, a meter reader records that usage so you'll be billed accordingly. The exact date it is read can be found on your bill.

OMU uses two types of meters. One is digital with numbers displayed in four or five windows. The other and more common type of meter found on OMU customers' homes is a dial-type meter that has four or five clock-like faces numbered in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. For these meters, you need to read the dials from right to left according to the direction of the arrow. Follow these guidelines when reading the dials:

• If the pointer is between two numbers, record the lowest number (unless it is between 9 and 0 and then you should record the 9).
• If the pointer is directly on a number, look at the dial to the right. If the pointer is between 9 and 0, record the smaller number. If it is between 0 and 1, record the larger number.

After you have recorded the numbers for each dial, read them from left to right. The example here would be 9079.

What Happens When An Electric Meter Malfunctions?

Truth is, electric meters typically run for several years on the same home or business without failing. They are very reliable. If a meter does develop a problem, however, it will usually run slower than normal and read less than actual electricity usage. It is extremely rare for a meter to run faster.

Your Water Meter

Most OMU water meters are the digital type meters. You read them like an odometer from left to right, rounding off the last two numbers to the nearest hundred. They register in cubic feet. One cubic foot is equal to 7.48 gallons. The red hand or sweep hand makes one full turn to record one cubic foot. The small triangle on the sweep hand is used to detect small leaks. Turn off all the faucets in your home and check this triangle to see if it is turning. If it is, it would indicate you may have a leak in your plumbing. The most common leak is a faulty commode valve.