Meters

The amount of your bill is determined by your monthly kilowatt-hour (kWh) usage, which is measured by your electric meter. To determine the amount of electricity you have used during the billing period, we subtract the prior month’s reading from the current reading.

If you have a smart meter that has been activated, we read the meter remotely each month. But you don’t have to wait until your bill arrives to determine your usage. You can go to your energy dashboard to see how much energy you’re using by the month, day and hour. If your smart meter hasn’t been activated yet (a process that occurs several months after installation) or you have a standard mechanical meter, an FPL meter reader will manually read the meter each month.

Estimated bills

Please make sure to provide safe access to your meter at all times to ensure an accurate reading of your energy use. When something prevents our meter readers from reading the meter, they are required to make an estimate of your monthly energy use. Reasons for estimated bills include:

• Locked entrance preventing access to meter
• Dog(s) blocking the pathway to the meter
• Severe weather

When an estimated bill is required, the estimate is made based on your history of electric usage at your address. Your bill will state whether it contains an estimated amount. Once a true reading can be made on your meter, we can correct the previous estimate to show actual usage from the last time that we read your meter. If our estimate was too high or too low, your next bill will be automatically adjusted.

The date we read your meter varies slightly from month to month due to weekends and holidays and the total number of days in a month; therefore the number of days included in your monthly bill can vary between 25 and 35. So, even if you use the same amount of electricity per day, your bill may vary from one month to the next, depending upon the number of days included in your bill. We read meters Mondays through Fridays and certain Saturdays. Your next meter reading date can be seen on your last paper bill or on your last online statement. Read your energy use for yourself: Learn how to read your meter.

Meter Reading Reminders

To help ensure safe access to your meter, we can call you the evening before or the morning of you scheduled meter reading. This is a pre-recorded, friendly reminder to secure your dogs and unlock any gates. Please contact us to enroll in the Call Ahead Service program.

Providing Safe Access to Your Meter

At FPL, safety is our first priority but we need your help to keep employees safe. Customers are required by law to provide our meter readers a safe path to access the electric meter. Customers must:

• Secure animals inside the house/business or inside a fenced area away from the meter to avoid injuries
• Make sure there is a clear, direct path to the meter - no overgrown trees or bushes
• Remove any objects or holes in the path to the meter that could cause our employees to trip or slip
  

For meter readers, one of the biggest threats to safety is dogs. To avoid bites or harm to an animal, our meter readers will only enter a property if:

• There is only one dog present
• The dog is not a Pit Bull, Dogo Argentino, Presa Canario or Rottweiler
• The dog is not displaying aggressive behavior
• There is no other person present

Tampering with an electric meter is considered theft and is punishable by Florida law. It also creates safety hazards for customers and utility employees. We work hard to serve all of our customers in the most cost-efficient manner possible. When someone tampers with a meter, not only is it extremely dangerous, it also adds to our cost of doing business and that affects everyone’s bills. If you believe someone may be tampering with an electric meter or stealing electricity, please call us immediately at 1-800-528-6621 or email us.

We take meter tampering and electricity theft very seriously. If it is suspected, we conduct a thorough inspection that may involve:

• Visits by field personnel
• Analysis of the customer’s account
• Examination of the customer's meter at our testing facility
• Other evidence-gathering action
  

According to Florida rules and regulations, unauthorized connections to, or tampering with, FPL's equipment subjects the customer to:

• Immediate disconnection of service
• Adjustment of prior bills for electric consumption
• Reimbursement to the company for all investigation expenses
• Possible felony criminal prosecution
  

Bill Adjustments Following a Meter Investigation

We routinely test and replace defective meters to ensure fair and equal treatment to all FPL customers. While a defective meter is rare, if a meter registers lower usage than the electricity that was consumed, the Florida Public Service Commission permits limited back-billing for prior usage. This may also include investigation fees if it was determined that a meter was tampered with or removed. These fees are based on FPL’s actual expenses incurred to complete the investigation and correct the condition. We understand the hardship this causes and that is why we work with customers to establish a long-term payment plan and also offer free energy evaluations to help identify additional ways to save money and energy.  

Electricity theft is a serious problem and a crime punishable by fine and/or prison time. FPL works very hard to serve all of our customers in the most cost-efficient manner possible, but when someone steals electricity, it adds to the company's cost of doing business and that affects everyone. We believe in operating efficiently and responsibly, and that’s how we’ve managed to keep our typical residential bills the lowest in the state. We encourage anyone who suspects electricity theft to report it in confidence by calling FPL at 1-800-528-6621 or email us.   

Most FPL customers are provided with a communicating smart meter as the standard meter service. These meters communicate the same type of information that FPL previously collected through manual meter readings, but at more frequent intervals and over a wireless network. This enables FPL to offer a number of additional benefits to customers.

A non-communicating meter is available to eligible customers through FPL’s Non-Standard Meter Option. Customers enrolled in the Non-Standard Meter Option must pay an enrollment fee of $89 and a monthly surcharge of $13.

To be eligible, customers must not have tampered with the electric meter service or used service in a fraudulent or unauthorized manner.

Customers enrolled in the Non-Standard Meter Option will be allowed to keep their existing non-standard meter. If a replacement non-standard meter is necessary it will be a non-communicating meter of the company’s choice.

For more information:

• Meter Option Features and Benefits
  
• Non-Standard Meter Option Terms & Conditions
  
• Understanding smart meters
• The facts about smart meters