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Stop Paying Your Tenant's Utilities | Erik Kalm (Head of Sales, Alliance Metering Solutions)

Submetering Utilities: A Practical Guide for Landlords and Property Managers

Author

Weiting Bollu
December 04, 2025

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About Erik Kalm:

Erik Kalm is the Head of Sales and Client Solutions at Alliance Metering Solutions, a utility based submetering provider affiliated with Anova Corporation. With nearly 20 years of experience in suite metering since 2006, he has deep expertise in both the technical and regulatory sides of submetering, particularly in multi residential and condominium buildings.

Erik has worked with and consulted for many Ontario utilities, helping them design, implement, and manage metering programs. He now focuses on supporting landlords and property managers to lower operating expenses, transfer utility responsibility fairly to tenants, and stay compliant with Ontario’s evolving rules, using an education first approach that makes complex projects as simple as possible.

What you’ll learn:

  • How submetering works technically (meters, CTs, remote reads) in multi-residential buildings

  • The Ontario laws and regulations that govern submetering and billing

  • The different rules for condos vs. rental apartments when implementing submetering

  • When you can and cannot transfer utility costs to tenants under the RTA

  • Why electric baseboard heat is treated differently and the limitations on metering it

  • Typical pricing structures and admin fees for electricity, water, and thermal metering

  • How submetering shifts risk and operating costs from landlords to tenants

  • Real-world conservation impacts: typical 20–40% reductions in electricity use

  • Practical implementation steps, from site assessment to contracts and tenant setup

  • Key considerations and pitfalls for smaller buildings, duplexes, and retrofits

Key Takeaways:

  • Submetering bills each unit for its actual utility use instead of sharing bulk costs, reducing operating expense volatility for landlords and making costs more transparent and controllable for tenants.

  • Ontario submetering is governed by Measurement Canada (meter accuracy), the Ontario Energy Board (provider rules), and the Residential Tenancies Act (when tenants can be made responsible).

  • Condos can adopt submetering through a board vote, but rental landlords can only implement it on unit turnover or with existing tenants’ written consent, making rollout slower in older rental buildings.

  • Existing tenants who consent to submetering must receive a rent reduction equal to the estimated utility cost removed, including the admin fee, so they are made financially whole at the time of transition.

  • Electric baseboard heat in existing rentals generally cannot be shifted to tenants via submetering; only plug loads can be metered when placed on separate circuits, while heat pumps may allow more flexibility.

  • Alliance’s admin fees are typically $15–17/month per unit for electricity and somewhat lower for water; these fees are its only revenue, while commodity and distribution charges are passed through at regulated rates.

  • Buildings with roughly 20–30+ units usually qualify for submetering with no upfront cost for meters and installation; smaller buildings (6–20 units) are feasible but must be evaluated on a case‑by‑case basis.

  • Submetering consistently reduces consumption, with studies and real projects showing 20–40% electricity savings as tenants become more conscious of their own bills and quickly change wasteful habits.

  • In many buildings, a small minority of tenants consume a disproportionate share of energy; submetering stops low‑use tenants from subsidizing heavy users by making everyone pay for their own consumption.

  • Using a licensed provider like Alliance shifts compliance, billing, collections, and potential disconnections away from landlords, reducing legal risk and avoiding the need for owners to be the “bad guy.”

Where to find Alliance Metering:

526 Country Squire Rd.
Waterloo ON N2J 4G8

Mobile: 416 879 8806
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://alliancemetering.com/ 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:06:22) Introduction of Erik Kalm

(00:07:13) Sub-Metering in Ontario - History

(00:11:28) What Does a Sub-Meter Offering look like?

(00:12:54) New Construction Market

(00:13:45) Retro fit Market

(00:16:27) Apartment Market

(00:17:48) Benefits for Landlords & Property Managers

(00:22:23) Why Sub-Metering Makes Sense for Rental Units

(00:32:14) Important Consideration

(00:42:52) Upgrade Your Building with Individual Water Meters

(00:45:05) How Does it Work?

(00:47:51) Important Rules about Sub-Metering that a landlord Must Follow Under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA)

(00:57:01) Purposed Offering - Initial Site Evaluation

(01:01:20) Purposed Offering - General Questions

(01:02:00) Purposed Offering - Electrical Questions

(01:02:29) Purposed Offering - Water Questions

(01:04:18) #5 & #7 Concorde Place

(01:06:22) Benefits of Sub-Metering

(01:10:39) Clients

(01:10:46) Contact Information

Referenced:

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