共用電錶定獨立電錶？計清楚長遠電費先決定Shared or dedicated meter? Do the long-term maths first

In a private estate, after approval, the second decision is: how does your charging get billed?

There are generally two routes.

Route one: the estate's shared meter, apportioned

The charger connects to the carpark's existing common supply. The electricity lands on the estate's account, and your share is apportioned back to you.

Upsides

• Lowest upfront cost — no new meter application, no space needed for one
• Simplest process; management approval is usually enough
• Shortest installation timeline

Watch for

• The rate follows the estate's commercial or bulk tariff, which isn't necessarily the residential rate and is sometimes higher
• You're relying on management's apportionment method. Is there a sub-meter? How often is it reconciled? What happens when it's wrong?
• Some estates add a management or admin fee on top of the apportioned amount
• If the estate changes its billing approach later, you have little say

Route two: your own meter, billed directly by the utility

Apply to CLP or HK Electric for a meter of your own, installed in the carpark, with usage on your account.

Upsides

• Transparent pricing straight from the utility's tariff, with your own bill
• You pay for what you use, with no apportionment disputes
• Potential access to residential-category rates and related concessions
• Clean allocation of responsibility if you sell the flat later

Watch for

• Higher upfront cost: application fee, meter box, and the run from the switch room to the meter position
• The carpark needs somewhere to put the new meter, with management's agreement
• Application and installation take longer

How to choose: use your consumption

A simple test: how many kWh a month do you charge?

• Under 100 kWh/month (weekend driving, a few hundred km): the shared meter usually wins, because a dedicated meter's upfront cost takes too long to amortise.
• Over 300 kWh/month (daily commuting, 2,000 km or more): the dedicated meter's rate advantage gradually overtakes the upfront cost and usually wins long-term.
• In between: it depends on your estate's actual apportioned rate. Management has that number — it's worth asking.

There's also a non-financial factor: how much you value transparency. Some owners would rather pay a little more than argue about apportionment figures every month.

What we do about it

During the survey we do two things:

1. Ask management for the shared meter's actual apportioned rate and the calculation method
2. Cost the dedicated meter upfront, and work out the payback period at your expected usage

Then we put both numbers in front of you and you decide. We won't decide for you, because the answer genuinely varies from household to household.

Want a rough figure for both routes at your estate? WhatsApp us the estate name and roughly how many km you drive each month, and we'll estimate it.