Determining your energy use, calculating your bill

Determining your energy usage

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.

Meter reading dates

The date we read your meter varies slightly from month-to-month due to weekends and holidays, 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 energy 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. You can find out the date of your next meter read by looking at your last bill statement, or on your online statement.

Reading your meter

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 our secure portal and check 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.

Identifying FPL meter readers

Our meter readers carry FPL photo identification cards and wear hats and blue shirts with the FPL logo.

If a meter is located inside your residence or business and the meter reader has to enter the building, please ask to see his or her FPL identification.

Click here to learn more about how to tell if someone is an FPL employee or approved contractor and how protect yourself from fraudulent activity.

Providing for safe access

Meter readers need a safe path to access and read your electric meter. Please look at your meter and determine if the path to the meter is safe.

• Is there a clear direct path to your meter that is free of obstructions, such as overgrown trees and bushes?
• Are there any holes or objects in the path to the meter that may cause our employees to trip or slip?
• Have you secured your dog inside the house or in a fenced area away from the meter?
  To avoid dog bites, our meter readers will enter a yard with a dog only when
• 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

Removing these obstacles helps our meter readers to work safely on your property and provide you with accurate bills. Watch our video to learn more.

Call-Ahead Service

We offer a service to call customers the evening before or the morning of their scheduled meter reading. This is a pre-recorded "friendly reminder” to provide safe access to the meter by securing dogs and unlocking gates.

To enroll in this program, please call us.

Monitoring your energy usage

You can monitor your energy usage on a regular basis by regularly reading your own meter:

1.) Locate the dials on the front of the meter – most meters have five dials, although some may have just four. If there are several meters to choose from, pick the one that matches the meter number found on the front of your bill.

2.) To get your current reading:

a. For mechanical meters, read each dial from left to right. If the dial pointer is between two numbers, write the lower of the two numbers – except if it is between 9 and 0.


       2                5               9                8               7

b. For digital meters and smart meters- record each number from left to right

3.) Subtract the reading on the front of your last bill from the reading you just took to determine the amount of electricity (kilowatt-hours) you’ve used since your last bill.

And to learn even more about your energy use, you can Take an FPL Online Home Energy Survey. You’ll get a personalized, expert analysis of your home’s energy use, along with specific ways to save. You can also use the “what if” feature to find out how energy-saving changes to your appliances or lifestyle would affect your bill.

Please report energy theft

You use electricity and pay your bill every month. So why should someone who steals electricity get away with it? Plus, meter tampering can be life-threatening – to customers and FPL employees.

A slow-moving or stopped meter may indicate possible theft. If you are aware of someone who might be tampering with a meter, please report it. Simply call us in confidence at 1-800-528-6621.

Under Florida law, electricity theft is a crime punishable by fine and/or imprisonment.