How to Read Baltimore Gas & Electric's Digital Meters

Digital meters are simpler to read than dial meters such as that shown.

BGE, formerly known as Baltimore Gas & Electric, serves 1.2 million electric customers and 630,000 gas customers in Central Maryland. It traces its history to the 1816 lighting of Rembrandt Peale's Holliday Street mansion and Peale's subsequent lighting of Baltimore's streets. Two centuries later, its marketing slogan reads, "We're on it." Reading the company's meters is a straightforward process.

Instructions

1. Locate your BGE utility meters. The gas meter likely is in the basement near the intake gas pipe, on the wall of the basement nearest the street. The electric meter is likely to be in a separate area of the basement nearest the electric power supply or on an outside wall.

2. Look for a row of four or five small dials indicating a dial meter, typical of an electric meter, or alternatively a four-digit display indicating a digital meter, typical of later-model gas meters.

3. Read the digital meter from left to right. For example, the first digit may be blank, the second digit a "2," the third a "2" and the final one an "8." This indicates your meter is currently reading at 228. Each figure represents a cubic foot of gas use.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a dial meter, begin with the dial on the far right and record the lowest number the pointer has passed, even if it is almost touching the next highest number, and continue working your way left until you have recorded all the numbers. Note that the dials rotate clockwise and then counterclockwise in alternating fashion.

• You can submit your meter reading online at BGE.com or by calling customer care at 410-685-0123 or 800-685-0123. Many meters are equipped for automatic readings by BGE staff readers using hand-held computers to avoid the need for in-home or self-reported readings.

References

• BGE: How to Read Your Meter
• BGE: Submit Your Meter Reading
• BGE: Meter Readers
• BGE: About BGE