Utility Meters

With the high cost of electricity and natural gas, more people than ever are paying attention to their utility meters. The flow of gas, water and electricity is measured as they pass through these meters and this measurement determines how high your bill will be.

While reading a water meter is very straightforward because they have a digital indicator but most gas and electric meters use dial indicators. Misreading the indicator dials is the primary cause of billing errors. Read the dials from right to left. Indicators between numbers are always the lower number. For example, an indicator between 3 and 4 is read as a 3. If you have a digital indicator on your gas meter, only the first four numbers from left to right are used for billing. If you get a gas bill showing five digits (i.e. 12507) as an ending amount and four digits (i.e. 1248) as the starting amount, your meter has been misread.

Another common billing complaint involves the baseline amount. The baseline is an average basic daily amount allowed multiplied by the number of days between meter readings. The baseline changes depending on the time of year. For example, the baseline factor for gas is .457 in the summer but 1.624 in the winter when more people heat their homes. When the change in the baseline factor is made, the amount billed will change even if total use hasn't. Gas rates change May 1st and November 1st and the amount owed can change as shown here.

April Bill May Bill
Billing Days 30 Total Gas 60 Billing Days 31 Total Gas 60
30 days @ 1.624 = 48.72 baseline 31 days @ 0.457 = 14.17 Baseline
Baseline 48.72 @.97 = $47.26 Baseline 14.17 @ .97 = $13.74
Over baseline 11.28@1.15 =$12.97 Over baseline 45.83@1.15= $52.70
Total = $60.23 Total = $66.44

If you have a problem with your utility bill, follow these steps.

Determine if your bill is from a public utility company. (Edison, The Gas Company, City of Colton, etc.) If it is, then you must contact the utility company.

If you get a bill from a another source, you have what is called a submeter. The County inspects these meters not the public utility. A complaint form is available in the Common Questions and Forms section. Please provide copies of your last three months of utility bills with your complaint form. This information will help us determine the billing factors and your usage and enables us to calculate the proper charge and verify correct meter reading.