Is Submetering Illegal?
As of this posting, there is no federal law against submetering. Utilities, however, do have the legal right to forbid their customers from buying energy and re-selling it at a profit. A landlord has the legal right to ask his tenants to pay for the energy they use, as long as the landlord does not charge the tenants more than the energy actually costs. The landlord may estimate the tenant usage based on a square foot calculation or other method, but the only accurate method is by the use of submetering equipment.
