Energy costs are becoming increasingly unpredictable. Across much of the country, wholesale capacity prices, the costs utilities pay to maintain reliable generation, rose sharply this year. Combined with longer, hotter summers, those increases have pushed both property owners and residents to look more closely at how they manage electricity use.

For multifamily communities, much of that management starts with how power is delivered and billed. Many developers are discovering that pairing master metering with submetering offers an effective balance of speed, cost control and transparency and can be implemented without raising rents or passing new fees on to residents.

Why Traditional Approaches Fall Short

Historically, developers have had to choose between direct metering by the local utility or a single master-metered setup. Each comes with trade-offs.

Direct metering assigns each unit its own utility meter, but that approach often comes with higher upfront costs, longer construction timelines and limited design flexibility. Utilities control where transformers and meter banks are placed, which can create aesthetic and logistical challenges. In addition, utility installation schedules can delay occupancy, preventing developers from energizing units until all work is complete.

Master metering, on the other hand, allows the entire property to receive power through one main utility meter, streamlining installation and reducing construction costs. However, it traditionally required owners to divide energy use among tenants using flat allocations or square footage estimates, creating fairness concerns and limiting incentives for conservation.

Neither approach alone fully supports today’s priorities around efficiency, flexibility and resident experience.

The Power of Partnership: Master Metering Meets Smart Technology

Using master metering in tandem with submetering provides a practical, scalable alternative. Under this model, the local utility installs a single master meter to serve the property. From there, a private energy services partner like Nationwide Energy Partners (NEP) designs, installs and manages the internal submetering infrastructure that measures usage for each unit.

This approach gives developers greater control over construction timelines and design choices while ensuring residents are billed only for the energy they use. NEP manages the internal system, billing and maintenance, allowing developers to energize and lease units months earlier than with traditional utility metering.

This also allows for easy layering of smart technology.  In partnership with its sister company Armada Power, NEP can integrate advanced hardware and software to optimize maintenance, water and energy efficiency and resident comfort.

A standout example is the combination of Armada Power’s leak detection system with NEP’s submetered high-usage alerts. Together, they provide a proactive safeguard against waste and damage by detecting anomalies before they turn into emergencies.

This integrated solution helps:

• Prevent costly water damage from leaks in water heaters, washers and kitchen sinks, saving properties tens of thousands of dollars in potential repairs.
• Lower energy costs for residents, with savings of up to $50 per month through avoided leaks and up to $200 in winter electricity use.
• Improve operational efficiency by reducing emergency maintenance calls and enabling data-driven decision-making.

And critically, these benefits come without raising rents or resident utility rates, a differentiator that’s helping multifamily operators add value while staying competitive in a tight housing market.

For residents, submetering and technology bring transparency and accountability. Each household pays its actual usage, encouraging more energy-efficient habits that can reduce overall consumption by 10 to 20 percent.

A Better Path Forward

As energy prices rise and sustainability targets grow more ambitious, developers and operators are seeking practical ways to manage costs and improve resident satisfaction. Pairing master metering with submetering and augmenting with smart technology delivers both.

NEP has focused exclusively on the multifamily market since 1999, helping developers and owners modernize how utilities are delivered, billed and understood. By combining operational efficiency, design flexibility and resident affordability, NEP’s model empowers multifamily communities to build a smarter, more resilient and cost-stable energy future that benefits everyone.