Houston Utility Submetering and Billing Services
Recover More of Your Multifamily Community’s Utility Costs!
Houston Utility Submetering and Billing for
Water, Electric and Gas
Property Managers who are considering Houston utility submetering and billing services or who are interested in recovering more of their community’s utility costs need to look no further than Oates Energy. Residential and commercial multi-unit properties partner with us because of our flexibility and the efficiency of our Water, Electric and Gas Utility Submetering and Billing Solutions.
Each of our clients enjoy a totally customized submetering and billing suite of services designed specifically for their property and their preferences. Our services include industry leading billing software that is flexible and seamlessly integrates with all major property management software brands, Ratio Billing Services, (RUBS) for our clients without submeters, full service resident billing customer care, and dedicated client relations managers who are dedicated to serving the needs of the clients they are assigned to.
Multifamily
Submetering & Billing
Oates Energy was founded by industry experts who learned early in their careers, that while multifamily properties might seem similar, they and their management teams have very different requirements and preferences on how they operate. For this reason Oates Energy’s suite of services was developed from the very beginning to provide important services that typical utility submetering and billing providers are unable or unwilling to provide, and to allow these services to be customized to our client’s requirements and preferences, and not packaged.
Extended services such as billing for other charges and fees for Internet, TV, phone services and even garage and pet fees, our U.S. based billing customer care team that assist residents with billing matters, and other key services can all be assembled and customized to each property’s exact requirements. Contact us to design the perfect Houston utility submetering and billing solution for your community.
Condominium Utility
Submetering & Billing
We are also very experienced in partnering with condominium HOAs and management companies. Industry leading software, online account management for the residents and property managers, and an experienced U.S based billing customer care team for residents are just a few of the reasons more condominium communities trust Oates Energy for Houston utility submetering and billing. Contact us for a customized utility submetering and billing solution designed to recover more of your community’s utility costs.
Mobile Home Park
Submetering & Billing
Mobile home park utility submetering and billing requirements often differ greatly from park to park. In many cases they have older utility submetering equipment or none at all. For mobile home parks who wish to submeter utilities, we custom designed submetering systems of all types from today’s modern remote read meters, to repairing and replacing traditional meters.
For parks that prefer not to update or add new submetering equipment, we tailor billing solutions such as “RUBS”, (Ratio Utility Billing System) to the policies management stipulates. Our customizable Houston utility submetering and billing solutions can be adjusted for almost any requirement. Call us about a utility billing solution that will recover more of your park’s utility costs!
New Construction
Submetering Installation
We install water, electric and gas submetering systems in new commercial and residential construction projects across the country. Regardless your project’s utility submetering specifications, our experienced installation teams will install your submetering systems using your project’s design specifications, to local code and assure that it is tested and ready for final inspection. Call us today for a detailed utility submetering installation bid!
Utility Submetering Laws and Regulations in Texas
A political subdivision may not authorize the construction or occupancy of a new apartment house, including the conversion of property to a condominium, unless the construction plan provides for the measurement of the quantity of electricity consumed by the occupants of each dwelling unit of the apartment house, either by individual metering by the utility company or by submetering by the owner.
This section does not prohibit a political subdivision from issuing a permit to a nonprofit organization for construction of a new apartment house for occupancy by low-income elderly tenants if the nonprofit organization establishes, by submitting engineering and cost data and a sworn statement, that all cost savings will be passed on to the low-income elderly tenants (Tex. Utilities Code Ann. §184.012).
The Texas Water Code requires each unit in a building with five or more residential units built after Jan. 1, 2003 to have either an individual water utility meter or sub-meter. If feasible, it requires water companies to install individual meters in such buildings at the building owner’s request. The water company can charge reasonable costs for installing the meters. If the water company determines that installing these meters is not feasible, the law requires the property owner to install a plumbing system compatible with sub-meters.
For submetering multi-unit property owners, the state’s water code limits submetering charges on tenants to the cost per gallon and applicable taxes and surcharges charged by the water company; a late fee up to five percent of the late bill; and a service charge of up to nine percent of the costs related to submetering allocated to each sub-metered unit. The code also requires the property owners to maintain adequate records and make them available to tenants and sub-meters to meet certain standards for accuracy, testing, and record keeping (Texas Water Code §13.501 through 13.506).
*Information courtesy of:
The National Conference of State Legislatures
WestlawNext, 2016.
