In short
Act 80-1972, as amended, provides that the reading of electric service meters may be carried out by any mechanism, local or remote, that accurately determines the amount of electric energy the client consumed, and that meters shall be located in accessible places so Electric Power Authority personnel can perform any task related to them. Where meters are read in person by duly trained Authority employees, they must be read or verified at least once every two (2) months in urban and rural zones, except that, where the client agrees and it is so stated in writing, the parties may agree that the reading be done less frequently. Whenever meters are read in person, the reader shall leave written notice stating the previous reading, the current reading and its date. Where the Authority can verify electric consumption by remote methods, that reading shall be carried out at least once every two months, and in those cases it is not obliged to leave the written notice. The bill the Authority sends its clients must contain information on the meter reading at the start and end of the billing period, the dates and days comprised in the period, the meter constant, the tariff, and the date of the next reading, as well as any other datum easing verification of the reading.
What is it?
It is the law setting how often your electric meter must be read and what data the bill must carry so you can check the number yourself. Its value is exactly that: it turns the bill into something verifiable instead of a total you have to take on faith.
Who can do it?
It applies to electric service clients in urban and rural zones of Puerto Rico. This Act deals only with electric service; it provides nothing about water service.
Requirements
- That the meter be located in an accessible place so Authority personnel can perform any task related to it.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Information pending verification.
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: Once every two months, at minimum
It is the central deadline and applies to both ways of reading. When meters “are read in person by duly trained Authority employees, they must be read or verified at least once every two (2) months in urban and rural zones.” And when the Authority “can verify electric consumption by remote methods, that reading shall be carried out at least once every two (2) months.”
Step 2: If it is read in person, they leave a written note
A concrete and verifiable right. “Whenever meters are read in person by Authority employees, the reader shall leave written notice stating the previous reading, the current reading and its date.” Three data points, not one. That note is what lets you cross-check the bill when it arrives.
Step 3: With remote reading there is no note, but the deadline stands
The law says so expressly to avoid confusion: “In those cases, the Electric Power Authority shall not be obliged to leave the written notice required where the reading is carried out locally.” What does not change is the minimum of one reading every two months.
Step 4: The six data points the bill must carry
Worth having at hand when you open the bill. It must contain “information on the meter reading at the start and end of the billing period, the dates and days comprised in the period, the meter constant, the tariff, and the date of the next reading, as well as any other datum easing verification of the reading.” The meter constant and the next reading date are the two most often overlooked.
Step 5: Less frequency only if you agree in writing
The exception exists but is locked. The parties may agree the reading be done less frequently than every two months only “where the client agrees and it is so stated in writing.” Without that written agreement, the two-month minimum stands.
Step 6: They must explain how to read the meter
It is a duty of the Authority, not a favour: “The Electric Power Authority shall distribute among its clients information explaining how to read the meters, in addition to orienting clients on the alternative methods that may be established.” The law adds that the Authority shall assess the feasibility of implementing alternative information methods so clients can verify the reading data before receiving the bill, and that it shall study doing so through automated telephone systems and the Internet.
Where to do it
The law imposes the duties on the Electric Power Authority, the name the compiled text uses. It creates no complaint procedure and designates no forum: what it gives you are enforceable data on the bill and a reading deadline you can cite. If your problem is service suspension for non-payment, the minimum procedure the law guarantees is in another guide; if it is a credit for medical equipment, that has its own too.
How long it takes
Meters must be read or verified at least once every two (2) months, in urban and rural zones, whether read in person or by remote methods.
Verified against the official source · August 24, 2026
What to do if something goes wrong
What this law does not do. It sets no penalty: we read its four sections and there is no fines or sanctions article, so we publish no figure borrowed from another law. It designates no complaint window and no deadline to claim, which is why the processing time we publish is the reading’s, not a claim’s. And it says nothing about estimated billing: if your bill comes estimated, what this law gives you is the right to have the meter read or verified at least every two months and to have the bill carry the data that allow verifying the reading; any specific rule on estimates would come from regulations we did not read. What we did not read and therefore do not publish: the Electric Power Authority’s organic act, its billing regulations and the energy bureau’s regulations. On the name: the compiled text, revised in 2024, names the Electric Power Authority, and we reproduce that name without substituting an operator or successor entity, because that would require reading laws we did not read. A scope precision: this Act deals only with the electric meter and provides nothing about water service.
Common mistakes
- Accepting months without a reading: the minimum is one reading or verification every two months.
- Throwing away the note the reader leaves: it carries the previous reading, the current one and the date, and serves to cross-check the bill.
- Not looking for the meter constant or the next reading date: the law requires both on the bill.
- Agreeing verbally to a less frequent reading: the exception requires it be stated in writing.
- Keeping the meter blocked or inaccessible: the law requires it be in an accessible place.
- Expecting a fine in this law: it sets none.
Frequently asked questions
How often must my meter be read?
At least once every two (2) months, in urban and rural zones, whether read in person or verified by remote methods. A lower frequency may be agreed only if the client agrees and it is stated in writing.
What must they leave when they read the meter?
If read in person, the reader shall leave written notice stating the previous reading, the current reading and its date. If read remotely, it is not obliged to leave that notice.
What data must the bill carry?
The meter reading at the start and end of the billing period, the dates and days comprised in the period, the meter constant, the tariff, the date of the next reading, and any other datum easing verification of the reading.
Does this law cover the water meter?
No. Its text deals with the reading of electric service meters. It provides nothing about water service, and we do not extend it a reach it does not have.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Negociado de Energía de Puerto Rico (NEPR)
Negociado de Energía
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
August 24, 2026
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