Submeter Billing
Submeter Billing Software for Multifamily, Commercial & RV Properties
Bill submetered tenants an accurate, compliant electricity bill — without asking the local utility to install additional, expensive meters. Energy311 reads your existing submeters, applies the correct utility rate, and handles invoicing and collections. No solar required.
Best fit for multifamily, commercial, agricultural, and RV park owners who submeter electricity to tenants and need billing that holds up to compliance and tenant scrutiny.
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Is it legal to bill tenants with a submeter?
In most states, yes — a property owner can submeter electricity and bill tenants for it, but the bill has to be calculated correctly. In California, Story v. Richardson, a 1921 decision of the California Supreme Court, established that a landlord’s provision of utility service to a tenant is not public utility service subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission — and for properties like RV parks and mobile home parks, Public Utilities Code Section 739.5 goes further, requiring that submetered tenants be charged the same rate the utility itself would charge, not a markup and not a flat fee. Other states have their own rules for who can submeter and how the bill has to be calculated.
How to bill submetered tenants fairly
Read the existing submeters
Energy311 reads usage directly from the submeters already installed on your property — including EKM Metering and other common hardware — with no new, expensive utility meters to install.
Bill at the current utility rate
Each bill is calculated against the local utility’s current published rate schedule, not a flat per-unit fee, and updates automatically whenever the utility’s rates change.
Invoice and collect
Tenants get a bill formatted like the utility’s own, itemized so it can be verified rather than disputed, with online payments and collections handled for you.
Why billing submetered tenants at a fixed rate is a bad idea
A flat, fixed per-kWh rate is simple to set up, but it drifts away from reality the moment the local utility changes its rates — which most utilities do more than once a year. Set the fixed rate too high and tenants overpay, which invites disputes and, in states with rate-matching requirements, compliance exposure. Set it too low and the property owner absorbs the difference indefinitely, since nobody goes back and corrects past bills once a fixed rate is in place.
Billing against the utility’s actual current rate schedule instead of a fixed number keeps every bill accurate as rates move, in either direction, without anyone at the property having to track or update a rate table.
Why charging tenants at a fixed consumption rate is a bad idea
Why RUBS is a last resort, not a solution
A Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS) divides the property’s electricity bill across tenants by square footage, occupancy, or another formula instead of metering each tenant’s actual usage. That only feels fair when every tenant uses power in roughly the same way. The moment one tenant’s draw looks nothing like their neighbor’s — a high-consumption commercial or agricultural tenant sharing a building with a much lighter user, for example — RUBS ends up billing the low-usage tenant for a share of their neighbor’s electricity. That’s the kind of bill that damages a tenant relationship and, at its worst, gives a tenant grounds to walk from the lease.
Energy311’s recommendation is almost always to submeter individually rather than fall back to RUBS. RUBS should only be used where individual submetering genuinely isn’t possible, and it’s worth revisiting as tenants and usage patterns change.
What to look for in submeter billing software
Not all submeter billing services protect your property and your tenant relationships equally. Look for:
No new utility meters required
Billing that works from the submeters already installed, instead of an expensive utility upgrade.
Gas and water metering, not just electric
Submeter billing for gas and water utilities alongside electric, on the same platform and invoice.
Accurate interval data
Reads that correctly handle tenant turnover, misreads, and gaps in connectivity.
Correct application of local rate-matching rules
Jurisdiction-specific requirements like California’s Public Utilities Code Section 739.5 for RV and mobile home parks.
A multi-utility rate engine
Tracks rate schedules across 40+ utilities and updates automatically when they change.
Bills that resemble the utility’s
So tenants can verify charges instead of disputing an unfamiliar format.
Built-in security and data privacy
Encryption, role-based access, and compliance with standards like SOC 2 and GDPR.
RUBS used sparingly, if at all
Reserved for units that genuinely can’t be submetered, not as a shortcut when tenants’ usage varies widely.
Integration with your property management system
Bills post directly into the PMS you already use, instead of adding a new dashboard or manual process.