Shared Metering

Shared Meter Law may be found inSection 52 of the Public Service Law ofNew York State. Implemented in 1991and amended in 1995, this law isenforced by all New York state utilitiesunder the express direction and admin-istration of the New York State PublicService Commission (PSC).

What is Shared Metering?A shared meter is any utility meterbilled under National Grid’s residentialrate that measures gas and/or electrici-ty used both inside and outside a ten-ant’s dwelling and that is not under thetenant’s exclusive use and control. Anexample would be a utility meter meas-uring heat and/or hot water used inother areas such as another apartment,a common area, hallway or separateroom.

A Message to TenantsNational Grid residential tenants arerequired to pay only for the electricityand/or gas used in their dwelling or inany area or equipment under theirexclusive use and control. If sharedmetering exists in your building, youmay be paying for electricity or gasused by others, or you may receive elec-tricity or gas through another tenant’smeter (third party). The Shared MeterLaw states that the tenant billed for theshared condition must be reimbursedby the landlord and or third party or,under certain conditions, the tenantmust enter into a mutually acceptableagreement with their landlord. If youare receiving electricity or gas throughanother tenant’s meter, you may bebilled for the energy that is used inyour dwelling or in any other areaunder your control.

If you think you may be affected byshared metering, please call NationalGrid at 1-800-642-4272 and let us knowwhat you believe is shared.

To verify a shared meter condition, wewill need:

■ access to your apartment;

■ access to the meters;

■ access to other areas of the buildingunder your control, if any; and

■ the owner/building manager’s name,address and telephone number.

Please note: Shared Meter Law requiresNational Grid to notify your buildingowner or manager of our intent toinvestigate.

A Message to Owners andApartment ManagersIf National Grid finds a shared meter-ing condition, we will describe the con-dition to be remedied and give you 120days to comply. When the condition iscorrected, or at the end of the 120 days(whichever is sooner), all applicableshared-area charges previously billed toyour tenant will be billed to you or thethird party benefiting from the sharedmetering condition. If the sharedmetering condition is not correctedwithin the 120-day period, the lawrequires that National Grid establish anaccount in your name for all futureservice measured on the shared meteruntil National Grid is requested to veri-fy that you have made the necessarycorrections.

The intent of the Shared Meter Law isto eliminate, whenever possible, anyshared meter conditions that may existat a dwelling. When National Grididentifies a shared metering condition,the law requires National Grid to fur-ther bill the owner and refund to thetenant an estimated amount of charges(assessment) for 12 months of servicemeasured by the shared meter. Youmust pay this amount regardless ofwhether the shared metering conditionis corrected. The law also states that

Tenants/Owner’s Rights and Responsibilites

For National Grid’s Residential Customers in New York

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this charge may be reduced if you senda written request to the PSC SharedMeter designee within 45 days of beingbilled by National Grid.

Exceptions as defined by the law are:

■ Legal impediment: a restriction that prevents separate metering, rewiringor repiping due to (a) zoning ordi-nances that limit the number of,type or location of meters in a build-ing; (b) the historical significance ofthe structure; or (c) such other legalrestrictions as determined by thePSC in its rules.

■ Extraordinary cost: the cost, asdetermined by a qualified profes-sional, of installing equipment nec-essary to eliminate a shared meter ina dwelling, or portion thereof, whichis in excess of the amount of rent forfour months’ rental of the dwelling.

■ Minimal/Diminimus Use: wheneverthe quantity of service that is usedoutside of the tenant’s dwelling isestimated to be less than 10 percentof the total monthly kwh consump-tion recorded on the meter based onthe average monthly service for thepreceding 12-month period or 75kwh (whichever is greater) or 5 ccfsof gas used per month.

If one of the conditions describedabove exists, a mutually acceptablewritten agreement can be reachedbetween you and your tenant(s). Acopy of this agreement must be provid-ed to National Grid before the 120-dayperiod expires. Additionally, any newtenant applying for service on theshared meter will be required to pro-vide a mutually acceptable agreementbefore they will be given service.

If your tenant(s) believes that a sharedmetering condition exists, NationalGrid is required by law to investigatethis claim within 30 business days. Ifyou do not provide National Gridaccess to all common areas of thebuilding or cooperate with any otherreasonable request made by NationalGrid, we may investigate through yourtenant and may determine that the ten-ant’s dwelling is served by a shared meter.

For More InformationTo find out more about sharedmetering, please call National Grid’sCustomer Service Contact Center at1-800-642-4272.

You may also contact the New YorkState Department of Public ServiceConsumer Service Division at 1-800-342-3377.

National Grid300 Erie Boulevard WestSyracuse, NY 132021-800-642-4272www.nationalgrid.com NY0083 1/06

National Grid, through the transmis-sion and distribution of electricityand natural gas, serves close to 4 million customers across 29,000square miles of Massachusetts,New Hampshire, New York andRhode Island. Its parent company,National Grid plc, is an internationalenergy delivery business located inthe U.K. with principal activities inthe regulated electricity and naturalgas industries.