Understanding Your Meter

Find out how to read and understand your electric meter

Your standard digital meter, like so many other modern electronics, is an advanced piece of technology. First and foremost, it means that no one needs to come to your home to read your meter. Instead, it’s done wirelessly.

Digital meters have many benefits, including:

  • Real-time usage data

View your monthly, weekly, daily—and even hourly—usage information. And because the meter transmits your information wirelessly, no one needs to visit your home for meter readings.

  • Fast outage detection

Your meter can alert Evergy immediately if there’s an outage at your home, so we can fix it faster too. Sign up for outage alerts and you’ll also get a notification to your email or phone when there’s a power interruption.

  • Participation in energy-savings programs

Digital meters also allow you to save money through voluntary programs like our Thermostat Program, and they also allow you to sign up for time-based rate plans, which give you more opportunities to save energy and money.


How to read your standard digital meter

The more you know about your electricity use, the better you can focus on increasing your energy efficiency. We provide usage information on your monthly bill, but you can also read your own meter, typically located at the side or back of your home.

Meter Examples
The electric meter uses a digital readout alternating between three different displays:

  • Display #1 shows the actual kWh register. Example: 01 00123 (123 kWh) 

  • Display #2 is a segment check. All of the number segments light up to ensure that a segment is not missing and all of the numbers are readable. Example: 88 888888 

  • Display #3 shows a radio signal indicating that the radio is working. Example: GS 000003

Because the meter does not reset each month, you can track your monthly electricity usage by subtracting this month’s reading from last month’s reading. 

Keep in mind that not all Evergy meters are identical, so your neighbor's meter might look a little different from yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

You can choose to ‘opt out’ of a standard digital meter. If you do so, you’ll need to call to report outages, and a technician will need access to your property every month to read your meter. Fees are required to request a non-standard digital meter. The meter still has a digital readout, but the communication module is removed so that it cannot send your meter information to Evergy.

Customers with non-standard digital meter may apply to self-read their meter, reducing the number of times per year that a technician needs to access your property. To apply for a non-standard digital meter, please learn more.

Differences between a non-standard and a standard digital meter:

  Non-Standard Digital Meter Standard Digital Meter
Monthly on-site meter reads 
 
 Monthly non-standard meter fee  $15 per month  $0
 One-time setup fee  $125  $0
 Radio-frequency emissions  None  Low
 Online usage data by day, week and month  
 Real-time outage detection  
 Participation in optional time-based plans  
 Support for energy-efficiency programs  
 Support for home solar  

Information from your meter is encrypted, which prevents any outside system access to your meter information, and Evergy applies the same rigorous privacy protection to all usage data collected by the meter. We treat your personal information and data as confidential in compliance with all regulatory requirements, including those of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Missouri Public Service Commission and the Kansas Corporation Commission.