How to read your meter
Alternating displays
Your smart meter uses a digital readout that alternates between different displays, including your kilowatt-hour (kWh) energy usage and other system information.
The four alternating displays are identified by a number in the upper left corner. This number represents the type of information being displayed. To capture your energy use, you will need to use display 020.
If you have solar panels on your house, display 021 shows the electricity sent to SMUD. The other displays provide system information for SMUD.
Analog meter
Other meters operate using gears to turn dials. These takes a little more thought to read carefully.
First notice that each dial turns the opposite way from the one before it. Starting with the dial on the left, record each number to get the current kilowatt hour reading. Subtract from that the previous month's reading to get your current month's usage.
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Reading your energy usage
We measure electricity usage in kilowatt-hours (kWh). One kWh equals 1,000 watts of electricity used for one hour.
To know how much energy you are using, just record one reading then record another reading at a later date. Then subtract the two to find the difference.
For example, using the sample number from the image above, you record 1260. At a later date, you record 1810. Subtract your first reading from your second reading to get 550 kWh. That’s your energy use for the time period between your first reading and your second reading.