Does anyone have experience with a property with NO individual electric meters?

Does anyone have experience with a property with NO individual electric meters? Centralized electricity. We are considering doing this on a new development project (243-unit mid-rise building) and then billing a flat rate to residents. I'll mention that this IS allowed in the state where the property is located. I'm interested any feedback, pros/cons, etc!

I’ve been on one and it’s a nightmare. When ppl don’t have to pay their energy bill, do you think they care about how much they run? They absolutely do not.

As a person who lives on a property that combines water, sewer & trash into one bill and then the company splits it among those LISTED ON THE LEASE, its total BS. We all know families that don't list everyone and I now have the luxury of paying their bills! Its complete BS, legal or not.

I would not on a new property.

Your power bill in summer will be 25% higher than you expect. People will run AC at 65, costs go up, rent goes up, then leave and during turnover new residents have a higher rate.

If utilities are included it is going to be abused it some time whether it be raising the heat opening a window lowering the air conditioner. Have you ever stayed at a hotel And may have left the air conditioning running cooler than what you would’ve done at your own home or left a light on because you knew you weren’t paying for it

We have a single source for electric, gas, waste pickup- all utilities are included in the rents. BUT, we only do this on a 55+ community. We would never structure it that way on a family deal. The cost of adding meters at construction is exhorbatant. So we have central boilers. And no individual meters.

Is there a way to establish cost by apt size and not by occupant count? This could be a solution that ensures its fair. I have utility reimbursement charge for water, sewer, trash, pest control that is a flat rate per apt size not head count at my community I manage.

I try to be eco friendly and turn off lights whenever possible and not run the AC when I don't need too. As a resident, I would hate to pay for someone else's electricity use.

If that is the direction you want to go I would highly recommend doing a rubs type allocation and not a flat fee. Might cut back on the abuse of usage some

property’s total cost for water and divide that cost over all residences, billing a percentage of the total cost to each residence based on the square footage of the residence, the number of occupants, and sometimes the number of bathrooms or bedrooms.

I worked at a brand new lease up that didn't have meters installed. We up charged the rent and sold the value of not having to pay an extra bill. After 2 years the owners went in and installed individual meters as they believed the hidden rent premium wasn't covering peoples usage.

Do you remember what it costs to meter units? I can get meters for about $150 each but I’m guessing the electrical work costs a fortune. I have 4 condos without a meter where I manage and it’s a nightmare.

You're correct. The meters are cheap but the permits, inspections, and electrical work was very expensive. We had 84 units and I apologize I do not recall the price. I left mid-project. Good luck! ????

My recommendation is to build in individual meters studies have shown electric usage is 20 to 30 percent less than a common meter. If you decide to go with a master meter and use a rubs program to charge back electric you need to know what percentage is for common areas and that depends on the type of construction mid rise vs garden and what kind of amenities you have. Once you have determined that you can use a rubs program in most states to charge back the percentage usually somewhere between 85 and 95 percent to occupied apartment homes.

We are converting from individual meters to a master meter, submetering the units and billing back usage at 95% of market rate electricity and adding solar to offset our cost of electricity.

You dont want to be responsible for that kind of headache for why they are always getting a different sized bill. Any reason they want to convert to central? I dont really see any upside unless you have vacancy issues

Call Conservice and speak to them

What people do not pay for they tend to waste. That is what people do.

Not a wise move. My company pays the water bill and it is surely abused. Residents don’t care if they get something free...especially electric!????????

We started billing individuals last September because of the abuse issues and it has been well received. We bill through a third party utility company Multi-Family Utility Billing and it works great for us.

I’ve managed master meter properties before and I urge against it. Many people will leave heat and AC running 24/7 because, why not? Creates unnecessarily high expenses and is really hard on the equipment.

When people don’t have to pay directly for usage, meaning there is a lag time and worse, it’s based on number of people/square footage and billed back later, they are incredibly wasteful. You won’t even believe it.
They will find it hard to pay increases in rent as time goes on.
Individually metered means they can control that cost if they choose too and you are not their utility provider.
We manage two master metered/shared electric properties and it stinks!

I work in a high rise that is like this. It is a boiler system so water, gas and electric are all included for a flat fee. I’ve not had any issues with it and it seems to be a great selling point! Only problem is, on the boiler, water pump is powered by electricity, so when the power goes out, water goes out also - for the whole building. That part can be a nightmare.