Frankfurt Meter Readings: NRM Reads Your Meter Once a Year, and Move Dates Can't Be Backdated

Two Parties Ask You for the Same Number

Newcomers are often surprised that someone other than their electricity company wants their meter reading. In Frankfurt there are two different requests.

The first comes from the grid operator. According to the NRM FAQ, NRM Netzdienste Rhein-Main is the local meter operator and has the yearly reading done by Mainova ServiceDienste, whichever supplier you chose. The time varies by district, but each district is always read in the same part of the year, for example every March.

The second comes from your supplier. Mainova says the yearly reading is the basis for your annual bill. A supplier other than Mainova may have its own routine, but it also needs a figure for the end of your billing period.

Both can use the same number if you report it to both. A supplier may use readings it receives from the meter operator, but the dates often differ, so do not count on one request covering the other.

The Yearly Reading, Step by Step

NRM describes three paths. Which one you get depends on how your address was scheduled.

A few details from NRM’s announcement page:

• Since 1 February 2021 the contractor Ifi GmbH does all on-site readings in the grid area.
• The reader announces the reading in person. With your consent they can read the meter that day. If not, an information card names an appointment in a window of two to four hours.
• If your own reading arrives first, the appointment falls away.

Since a stranger at the door is always a fair concern: the staff wear a vest with the Mainova ServiceDienste logo and carry a Mainova ID. If in doubt, close the door and call NRM on the numbers on its online service page.

Reading and Sending the Figure

NRM says the electricity meter is usually in the cellar, and in older houses it can also sit inside the flat. Mainova advises asking the Hausmeister in an apartment building if the meter room is locked.

1. Note the meter number printed on the meter. It is also on your annual bill and your contract confirmation.
2. Read the figure in kWh and leave out the digits after the decimal point. Two-tariff meters have a high-tariff and a low-tariff figure, and both are needed.
3. Note the date and take a photo of the meter showing number and display.
4. Send it by the route in the letter. NRM also accepts readings through its online service and through an automatic phone line.
5. Send it to your supplier as well. Mainova customers can use the OnlineService, a form without login that asks for the customer number, meter number, reading and date, or the voice portal on 0800 0004263. The form does not work for power meters with a Leistungszähler or when your meter is currently being billed, in which case Mainova’s service line takes the reading.

Digital meters do not read themselves in every case. Mainova’s guide states that a modern digital meter still has to be read yearly if remote reading is not available.

Moving In or Out: The Day Matters

Moves are where readings go wrong most often. According to Mainova:

• Report your move at least 14 days before the date, online or by phone.
• On the moving day you send only the readings with the reading date. The best moment is the handover of keys, for the old and the new flat.
• Moves can no longer be registered retroactively since 6 June 2025 because of legal requirements.
• If you do not report your move-out, your supply contract goes on, and the old meter stays assigned to you, even if someone else has moved in.

NRM adds that readings for moves can only be entered on the day itself. A dated photo is therefore your best proof. Put the reading into the handover protocol too, as described in our page on the Wohnungsübergabeprotokoll. When you first connect electricity, the page on registering electricity as a tenant shows the steps.

When No Reading Arrives

If you skip the letter, nothing happens immediately, but the next bill may be estimated. § 40a EnWG allows a supplier to base the bill on an estimate in two cases: you did not send readings despite your obligation, or the supplier could not determine consumption for reasons it is not responsible for. The estimate has to take the actual circumstances into account, particularly your previous consumption or that of a comparable customer. The bill has to say so in a prominently marked note with the reason and the factors used, and on request the supplier must explain it in text form free of charge.

The same law gives household customers a way out of self-reading: a customer can object in an individual case if self-reading is not reasonable, and then the supplier must read the meter itself without extra charge.

If a figure on your bill looks wrong:

1. Read the meter now and send the figure with the date and the photo.
2. Ask the supplier in writing to correct the bill.
3. If the answer does not help, the Schlichtungsstelle Energie mediates between private consumers and energy companies free of charge.
4. For a very high back payment, see our page on annual bills with a large Nachzahlung.

Quick Checklist

1. Find the meter and write down its number.
2. Read it at every key handover and photograph it.
3. Answer NRM’s letter or e-mail, or let the reader in.
4. Report the same reading to your supplier.
5. Check that an estimated bill carries the required note.
6. Keep photos until the next annual bill is settled.

Compliance Note

This guide describes the procedures of NRM Netzdienste Rhein-Main and Mainova as published on their websites in October 2026, and the text of § 40a EnWG. It is not legal advice. Procedures, phone numbers and deadlines can change, and addresses outside NRM’s grid area are served by other operators. Confirm details with NRM or your supplier.