> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nectarclimate.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Meter detail

> View meter usage history, manage identifiers, and assign meters to sites.

<Tip>
  Need help in this area? See [Data Inventory FAQ](/platform/data-inventory/faq).
</Tip>

Navigate to [**Data Inventory**](https://dash.nectarclimate.com/data-inventory) > **Meters** and open a meter’s **full page** (for example from the meter sheet’s **Open full page** action, or by visiting `/data-inventory/meters/<meter id>`). The full page provides tabs for usage, coverage, account context, bills, connection context, and trends.

## Meter information and identifiers

The top sections show **Meter Information** (key fields at a glance) and **identifiers** (account IDs, meter IDs, and other provider-specific numbers). Use **Edit** to change meter fields and **Manage identifiers** to add or remove identifier rows.

## Tabs

| Tab            | Purpose                                                                                           |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Usage**      | Usage history table and **Linked meters** when this meter is grouped with related records.        |
| **Coverage**   | Month-by-month completeness for this meter in context of your reporting expectations.             |
| **Account**    | How this meter relates to its [account](/platform/glossary#account) and peer meters.              |
| **Bills**      | Bills linked to this meter; open any row for [bill detail](/platform/data-inventory/bill-detail). |
| **Connection** | The [connection](/platform/glossary#connection) and related context for data collection.          |
| **Trends**     | Calendarized usage trend for investigation.                                                       |

From the meters list, the **Meter Sheet** preview uses the same tabbed content in a compact layout.

## Usage history

The usage history table lists usage entries over time.

## Linked meters

If this meter has been grouped with other meters (for example when a utility provider uses different identifiers for the same physical device), the **Linked meters** section on the **Usage** tab lists related meters and when they were linked.

## Actions menu

Open **Actions** on the full page or meter sheet to:

| Section         | Actions                                                                                 |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Navigate**    | **Copy link**; from the sheet, **Open full page** opens this view in a new browser tab. |
| **Manage**      | **Edit meter**, **Manage identifiers**                                                  |
| **Danger zone** | **Stop tracking** / **Start tracking**, **Mark as duplicate** / **Unmark duplicate**    |

To **move a meter to another site**, use **Reassign site** from the [meters list](/platform/data-inventory/meters) (row actions or bulk actions) — not the meter detail **Actions** menu.

## How the Primary ID is determined

Every meter can have multiple [identifiers](/platform/glossary#meter-identifier) — an account number, a meter serial number, a POD number, and so on. The **Primary ID** is the single identifier value Nectar displays in the meters table, the meter detail header, and everywhere else a meter needs a short label.

Nectar resolves the Primary ID using a four-tier priority system:

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart TD
    Start["Meter has identifiers?"] -->|Yes| Tier1["Tier 1: Account primary identifier type"]
    Start -->|No| Placeholder["Show site + utility type placeholder"]
    Tier1 -->|Match found| Done["Display that value as Primary ID"]
    Tier1 -->|No match| Tier2["Tier 2: Account secondary identifier type"]
    Tier2 -->|Match found| Done
    Tier2 -->|No match| Tier3["Tier 3: Standard priority ordering"]
    Tier3 -->|Match found| Done
    Tier3 -->|No match| Tier4["Tier 4: Any identifier with a value"]
    Tier4 -->|Match found| Done
    Tier4 -->|No match| Placeholder
```

### Tier 1 and 2 — Account preferences

If the meter's [account](/platform/glossary#account) has a **primary identifier type** configured (for example, set to "Account"), Nectar looks for an identifier of that type on the meter and displays its value. If no match is found, Nectar tries the account's **secondary identifier type**.

You can configure these preferences in the [account detail](/platform/data-inventory/account-detail) page by clicking **Edit** and setting the **Primary identifier** and **Secondary identifier** fields.

### Tier 3 — Standard ordering

If neither account preference yields a match, Nectar falls back to a global priority list. The first type in this list that exists on the meter becomes the Primary ID:

| Priority | Identifier type     | Common usage                                           |
| -------- | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| 1        | **Meter**           | Physical meter serial number                           |
| 2        | **POD**             | Point of Delivery (EU/UK)                              |
| 3        | **Electric Choice** | Deregulated US electricity markets                     |
| 4        | **Premise**         | Premise or service location ID                         |
| 5        | **Submeter**        | Sub-metering within a building                         |
| 6        | **ESI**             | Electric Service Identifier (Texas)                    |
| 7        | **Choice ID**       | Competitive retail choice ID                           |
| 8        | **Sub-Account**     | Sub-account number                                     |
| 9        | **Account**         | Utility account number                                 |
| 10       | **Summary Account** | Consolidated billing account                           |
| 11       | **MPR**             | Meter Point Reference (UK gas)                         |
| 12       | **ICP**             | Installation Control Point (New Zealand)               |
| 13       | **NMI**             | National Meter Identifier (Australia)                  |
| 14       | **MIRN**            | Meter Installation Registration Number (Australia gas) |

### Tier 4 — Any identifier

If no identifier matches the priority list, Nectar displays the first available identifier with a non-empty value.

### Placeholder

If a meter has no identifiers at all, the platform shows a contextual placeholder — for example, "Downtown HQ · Electricity" (combining the site name and utility type).

### Example

A meter has three identifiers:

| Type    | Value          |
| ------- | -------------- |
| Account | 12345-678-9    |
| Meter   | MTR-A12345     |
| POD     | IT001E12345678 |

* If the account's **primary identifier** is set to "Account" → Primary ID shows **12345-678-9**
* If the account has no preference set → Primary ID shows **MTR-A12345** (Meter is highest in the standard ordering)

Hover over the Primary ID column in any table to see a tooltip listing all identifiers and which one was selected.

### Controlling which identifier is displayed

If the Primary ID column is showing the wrong identifier type (for example, an account number instead of a meter serial number), you can change it:

1. Navigate to **Data Inventory** > **Accounts** and open the account that owns the meter.
2. Click **Edit** on the account detail page.
3. Set **Primary identifier** to the identifier type you want displayed (for example, "Meter" to show meter serial numbers).
4. Optionally set **Secondary identifier** as a fallback type.
5. Save. All meters under this account will now display the chosen identifier type as their Primary ID.

<Note>
  The Primary identifier and Secondary identifier settings are per-account, not per-meter. Changing
  the account's preference updates the display for every meter under that account.
</Note>

If the account has no preference set (both are blank), Nectar uses the [standard ordering](#tier-3--standard-ordering) — which puts Meter first, then POD, then Electric Choice, and so on.

## Managing identifiers

Meters can have multiple identifiers that map to different systems and utility provider formats. When a new bill is processed, Nectar looks at the numbers on the bill and matches them against identifiers stored on each meter. If the numbers match, the usage data is linked to the meter automatically.

The identifier you see in the **Primary ID** column is determined by the priority system described in [How the Primary ID is determined](#how-the-primary-id-is-determined).

### Identifier types

| Identifier type     | Where it is used                                                    | Example           |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- |
| **Meter**           | Physical meter serial number — the most common identifier worldwide | MTR-A12345        |
| **Account**         | Utility account number — printed on every bill                      | 12345-678-9       |
| **POD**             | Point of Delivery — used in EU and UK electricity markets           | IT001E12345678    |
| **NMI**             | National Meter Identifier — Australia                               | 6305000123        |
| **ESI**             | Electric Service Identifier — Texas (ERCOT)                         | 10443720000000000 |
| **Electric Choice** | Competitive retail electricity — deregulated US markets             | 1234567890        |
| **Premise**         | Premise or service location ID — various providers                  | PREM-98765        |
| **Submeter**        | Sub-metering identifier within a building                           | SM-001            |
| **Choice ID**       | Competitive retail choice ID                                        | CID-54321         |
| **Sub-Account**     | Sub-account under a master account                                  | SA-111            |
| **Summary Account** | Consolidated billing account covering multiple sub-accounts         | SUMM-999          |
| **MPR**             | Meter Point Reference — UK gas market                               | 1234567           |
| **ICP**             | Installation Control Point — New Zealand                            | 0001234567AB123   |
| **MIRN**            | Meter Installation Registration Number — Australian gas             | 52100123456       |

A meter can have multiple identifiers. This helps when different bills reference the same meter using different numbers.

### How identifiers affect bill matching

When Nectar processes a new bill, it extracts identifier values from the document and compares them against the identifiers stored on every meter in the company. The matching algorithm requires that:

1. **All identifiers extracted from the bill** must exist on the meter.
2. **Any extra identifiers on the meter** that were not extracted from the bill must appear somewhere in the bill document text.

This means that adding an identifier value to a meter that does **not** appear on the utility bills can prevent future bills from matching to that meter.

<Warning>
  Only add identifier values that appear on your utility bills. Adding custom labels, internal
  codes, or categorization tags as identifiers may prevent future bills from matching correctly.
  If you need to categorize meters, use site tags or meter notes instead.
</Warning>

### Best practices

* **Add all identifier variations.** If your utility prints the meter number differently on different bills (with or without dashes, with or without a prefix), add all variations as identifiers. This prevents Nectar from creating duplicate meters.
* **Compare against the bill.** Open the original bill PDF and compare the numbers on it against what is stored in Nectar. Incorrect identifiers are the most common cause of mismatched data.
* **Do not use identifiers for categorization.** Identifiers are for bill matching, not labeling. If you add a custom value like "Building A - Floor 3" as an identifier, Nectar will look for that string in every incoming bill and fail to match when it is not found.
* **Check identifiers when data is mismatched.** If usage data is showing up under the wrong meter — or not matching to any meter at all — check identifiers first.

Click **Manage Identifiers** to open a form where you can add, edit, or remove any of these identifier types.

## Changing a meter's site assignment

If a meter is showing up under the wrong building, use **Reassign site** on **Data Inventory > Meters** (select the meter, then choose the action). This is a common fix during initial setup, when meters may have been auto-assigned based on incomplete information.

**What happens when you reassign:**

* All of the meter's usage data — past and present — moves to the new site immediately.
* Analytics for the **old site** will no longer include this meter's consumption. If Building A was showing 50,000 kWh and you move a 10,000 kWh meter away, Building A now shows 40,000 kWh.
* Analytics for the **new site** will now include it. Building B gains that 10,000 kWh.
* This is not just a going-forward change — the entire history moves.

**When to reassign:**

* A meter was auto-assigned to the wrong building during onboarding
* Your portfolio has been reorganized and a building moved to a different site
* You are cleaning up data and realized a meter has been in the wrong place

## Handling duplicate meters

Sometimes the same physical meter gets created twice — for example, when a bill lists the meter number as "Meter A12345" on one bill and "MTR-A12345" on another. Nectar creates two separate meters, and if both have usage data, your site's total consumption appears higher than it actually is.

### When to mark as duplicate

Common scenarios where duplicate meters appear:

* **Supplier / LDC deduplication.** The same service point is reported by both the energy supplier and the local distribution company (LDC), creating two meter records with overlapping usage data.

### What happens to your data

When you mark a meter as duplicate:

* The meter's **usage data is excluded from site and portfolio analytics** aggregations to avoid double-counting consumption.
* **Bill costs are still included in analytics** — even if some meters on a bill are marked as duplicate, the bill's total charges still contribute to cost reporting. Only usage (consumption) data is excluded.
* It is **excluded from completeness tracking** — it will not show as a gap.
* It is **excluded from data exports**.
* **Usage data is preserved** — marking as duplicate is fully reversible. Click **Unmark duplicate** at any time to restore the meter to active status.
* **Bills linked to the duplicate meter** still appear in Data Inventory but their usage data does not contribute to consumption totals.

### Resolving a duplicate

1. **Identify the primary meter** — the one with the most complete data and the correct identifiers.
2. **Click Mark as duplicate** on the secondary meter — this excludes it from all aggregations.
3. **Reassign usage data if needed** — if the duplicate has usage records the primary does not have, reassign them before marking as duplicate.
4. **Update identifiers on the primary** — add any identifier variations from the duplicate so future bills match correctly.

You can mark meters as duplicate individually from the meter detail **Actions** menu, or in bulk from the [meters list](/platform/data-inventory/meters) by selecting multiple meters and choosing **Mark as duplicate**.

## Merging meters

**Merge meters** combines two or more meter records into a single record. Use merge when two rows genuinely represent the same physical meter — for example, when a utility changed the meter number format and Nectar created a second record.

### Requirements

* All selected meters must belong to the **same account**.
* The merge is initiated from the [meters list](/platform/data-inventory/meters) by selecting rows and choosing **Merge meters**.

### Merge preview

Before confirming, a **merge preview** compares the selected meters:

* **Identifiers** — All identifiers from all meters are combined. Duplicates (same type and value) are kept once.
* **Coverage** — A before/after comparison shows how the merged meter's data completeness improves.
* **Usage data** — Total usage records across all meters are counted.
* **Primary meter selection** — You choose which meter is the "primary" — the one that survives. Other meters become linked meters.

### What happens after a merge

* The **primary meter** keeps its ID, site assignment, and account association.
* All **identifiers** from the secondary meters are added to the primary (unless they already exist).
* All **usage data and bills** from the secondary meters are reassigned to the primary meter.
* The secondary meters become **linked meters** — visible on the primary meter's **Usage** tab under "Linked meters."
* The **Primary ID** may change after a merge if the newly combined identifier set causes a different identifier to win the [priority resolution](#how-the-primary-id-is-determined).

### When to merge vs. mark as duplicate

| Scenario                                                       | Use merge | Use mark as duplicate |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | --------- | --------------------- |
| Same physical meter, different identifier formats              | Yes       | No                    |
| Same service point, overlapping usage data you want combined   | Yes       | No                    |
| Supplier + LDC records with overlapping but independent data   | No        | Yes                   |
| One record is clearly extra and should be excluded from totals | No        | Yes                   |

## Reading trends

Use the **Trends** tab for a calendarized usage chart. Spikes, drops, gaps, and seasonality are easier to see over time than in a single bill row:

* **Sudden spikes** may indicate a data extraction error, a rate change, or a real operational issue (for example a heating system running continuously).
* **Sudden drops** could mean a missing bill, an extraction that missed usage data, or a real reduction in consumption.
* **Gaps** mean there are no usage records for that period — usually a bill is missing or has not been processed yet.

## Tips

* **Check site assignments after onboarding.** The most common data issue in Nectar is a meter assigned to the wrong building. Spend a few minutes after initial setup verifying each meter is under the correct site.
* **Add all identifier variations.** If your utility prints the meter number differently on different bills (with or without dashes, with or without a prefix), add all variations as identifiers. This prevents Nectar from creating duplicates.
* **Resolve duplicates promptly.** Duplicate meters cause double-counting. The longer they exist, the more data accumulates under both records, making cleanup harder.
* **Use the Trends tab and usage table together.** A sudden spike, drop, or gap is worth investigating — it could be a data issue or a real operational event.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I move a meter to a different site?">
    Go to **Data Inventory** > **Meters**, select the meter, and use **Reassign site** (row actions or bulk actions). Pick the target site — the meter and all of its usage data move to the new site immediately, including the full historical record.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens when I mark a meter as duplicate?">
    The meter is excluded from analytics aggregations, completeness tracking, and data exports to prevent double-counting. Usage data is preserved — marking as duplicate is reversible. Bills linked to the duplicate still appear in Data Inventory but do not contribute to totals. Click **Unmark duplicate** at any time to restore the meter to active status. See [Handling duplicate meters](#handling-duplicate-meters) for the full workflow.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does my meter show multiple identifiers?">
    Utility providers sometimes use different numbers on the physical meter, the bill, and the online portal. Nectar tracks all known identifiers so it can match incoming data regardless of which identifier the provider uses.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I manually add usage data to a meter?">
    Yes. Navigate to a bill associated with this meter and use the **Usage Data** tab to add new usage records. You can also create a manual bill from **Data Input** > **Manual entry** and link it to this meter.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is my meter showing up under the wrong site?">
    This usually happens during initial setup. When Nectar first creates meters, it assigns them to sites based on the information available — which is not always correct. From **Data Inventory** > **Meters**, use **Reassign site** to move the meter to the correct building. All of the meter's data will move with it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can two meters share the same identifier?">
    No. Identifiers must be unique across meters. If two meters have the same identifier, Nectar can't determine which one to match a bill to. This usually means one meter is a duplicate and should be marked as such. Resolve the conflict by keeping identifiers on the primary meter and removing them from the duplicate.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is the difference between the meter sheet and the full page?">
    Clicking a row opens the **Meter sheet**—a compact preview with the same tabs as the full page. Use
    **Open full page** for a dedicated URL, more space, and the same actions. Cmd-click (or equivalent)
    the row or use **Open full page** when you want a new browser tab.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="When should I use Merge meters vs. Mark as duplicate?">
    |                                | **Merge meters**                             | **Mark as duplicate**                                               |
    | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **What happens to usage data** | Moves to the primary meter                   | Stays on the flagged meter but is excluded from analytics           |
    | **What happens to the meter**  | Duplicate meters are permanently deleted     | Meter is preserved and can be restored                              |
    | **Reversible?**                | No                                           | Yes — click **Unmark duplicate** at any time                        |
    | **Requirement**                | Meters must be on the same account           | None                                                                |
    | **Best for**                   | Two rows that should genuinely be one record | A redundant meter you want excluded from reporting without deleting |

    As a rule of thumb: if you are confident the meters represent the same physical device and want a single clean record, use **Merge meters**. If you are unsure, or if the meters are on different accounts, use **Mark as duplicate** — it is safe to undo.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What does the Coverage tab show?">
    Month-by-month [completeness](/platform/glossary#completeness) for this meter against your
    reporting expectations—helpful to see whether gaps are meter-specific or part of a wider account or
    site pattern.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What do Stop tracking and Start tracking do?">
    They control whether new bill data is matched to this meter. Stopping tracking does not delete
    historical usage; it prevents new matches until you start again. Duplicates and tracking changes
    are easier to reason about from [Data Inventory > Meters](/platform/data-inventory/meters) if you are
    adjusting many records.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is the Trends tab different from the usage table?">
    The **Usage** tab lists individual usage entries. **Trends** shows a calendarized chart over time so
    you can spot seasonality, spikes, and gaps at a glance—pair them when investigating a single month
    vs. a long pattern.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does the Primary ID show an account number instead of a meter number?">
    The account's **Primary identifier** preference is set to "Account" — this overrides the standard
    priority ordering. To change it, open the [account detail](/platform/data-inventory/account-detail),
    click **Edit**, and set **Primary identifier** to "Meter" (or clear it to use the standard ordering,
    which puts Meter first). See [Controlling which identifier is displayed](/platform/data-inventory/meter-detail#controlling-which-identifier-is-displayed).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens to the Primary ID after merging meters?">
    After a merge, the primary meter inherits all identifiers from the secondary meters. The
    [Primary ID resolution](#how-the-primary-id-is-determined) runs again with the combined identifier
    set — so the displayed value may change if a higher-priority identifier type was added from the
    merged meter.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if I remove the identifier that is currently the Primary ID?">
    The next-best identifier takes over automatically. Nectar re-runs the
    [priority resolution](#how-the-primary-id-is-determined) — the account's secondary preference is
    tried, then the standard ordering, then any remaining identifier. If no identifiers are left, a
    placeholder (site name and utility type) is shown instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A meter shows a placeholder instead of an identifier. Why?">
    The meter has no identifiers stored. This can happen when a bill was manually entered without meter
    numbers, or when a connection did not extract identifier data. Click **Manage identifiers** to add
    the correct values from your utility bill.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>