Sub Meter Malaysia: How Room Electricity Metering Works
A sub meter tracks room or circuit electricity use behind the TNB meter. Learn how readings relate to the TNB bill in…
Transparent electricity sub-metering improves your rental business.
When electricity billing runs itself, it stays transparent, fair, and fully automated. You stop chasing tenants and start focusing on what actually grows your rental income.
"Pakcik approve!" 👍
If this sounds familiar, you're not alone.
"Now everything got AI, why you still check TNB bill manually?"
Subsidising Tenants
Paying for their heavy AC usage out of your own pocket every month. So painful!
No Visibility
Zero insight into which room is wasting electricity until the bill arrives. Like guessing in the dark.
Bill Disputes
Constant arguments with tenants over "unfair" estimated split bills. No more headache, please.
Runaway Usage
Mining rigs, 24/7 airconds, welding machines* running without your knowledge. Your bank account will cry!
Manual Metering
Wasting hours every month reading physical meters. Why so susah?
Chasing Payments
Awkward monthly follow-ups. Uncle doesn't like to be a debt collector.
No Enforcement
Unable to stop energy supply when tenants refuse to pay. System must be fair!
Guessing Costs
Setting flat rates and hoping for the best. Not a good business plan, bro.
* True story, bro.
We wanted to spend weekends growing our portfolio, not reading meters.
We started PowerLAH because electricity admin was taking time we needed for improving our properties. Manual readings, awkward bill conversations, and monthly trips to each unit added up fast.
So we built a system that handles all of it. Smart sub-metering, prepaid credit, and automatic cutoff run in the background, so we get our time back and every room gets a clear, accurate bill.
Our Approach
One platform. Every room. Full control.
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Precise metering
Our smart meters ensure accurate reading of electricity usage. No more "agak-agak".
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Real-Time Web App
Tenants top up their credit via the web app. No credit? The power cuts off automatically. No chasing needed!
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Cloud Integration
Manage 10 or 1,000 rooms from a single dashboard. Check everything while enjoying your teh tarik.
Live Status: Room 3B
USAGE: RM 12.40
CREDIT: RM 45.20
Set it. They pay. You earn.
Three simple steps. Zero chasing.
You set the policy
Decide the rules for each room.
Tenants self-serve
They check usage and top up in the app.
You get paid monthly
Funds land in your wallet just in time to pay the bills. Easy.
Tenants can pay with
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Credit and Debit Cards
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e-Wallets
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FPX Bank Transfer
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Powerful Features for Serious Management
Per-room metering
Individual tracking for every single room. Know exactly who's using what.
TNB alignment
We support Residential & Commercial tariffs with automatic conversion to RM.
Automatic power cutoff
Zero credit, zero power. Fair and simple for everyone.
Usage Analytics
See peak hours. Spot the energy wasters early.
e-Wallet Integration
Pay with Touch 'n Go, GrabPay, Boost, FPX, Visa or Mastercard... whichever is easiest for you lah.
Low-Credit Alerts
Multiple auto-reminders to tenants before the lights go out. Good for them, good for you.
Historical Logs
Full audit trail. If they argue, just show them the records.
Portfolio Overview
Manage all buildings in one view. Grow your empire comfortably.
Tamper Protection
Sensors detect bypass attempts. We watch out for you 24/7.
Lower the bill, not just split it.
When tenants pay their own utility bills, more of the rent stays in your wallet. Our intelligent platform then pinpoints exactly where waste is happening and surfaces opportunities to cut the bill further, so even more of the rental income stays yours.
Measured use drops
Tenants naturally use less when they can see exactly what each room is costing them. PowerLah's per-room dashboard makes waste visible in real time, long before the TNB bill lands.
Studies consistently show that people cut their energy use when they can see it in real time. A widely cited Oxford review for DEFRA found that direct feedback typically reduces consumption by 5% to 15%. On a RM 500 monthly bill, that is RM 25 to RM 75 back in your pocket every month.
Time-of-Use advisory
TNB's Time-of-Use tariff rewards properties that shift consumption away from peak hours. PowerLah reads your hourly meter data, checks it against the tariff, and tells you plainly whether switching to ToU would save money this month, so you make a confident decision, not a guess.
How ToU works
Base load analysis
Even when a room is empty, some appliances never switch off: fridges, water coolers, filters, standby lights. PowerLah's base load analysis identifies exactly which rooms are drawing power around the clock, showing you the always-on wattage, the monthly ringgit cost, and how large a share it is of that room's total bill.
Learn more
Projected bill alerts
PowerLah sends an automatic alert when monthly electricity use is expected to exceed the property's usual average, so a potential runaway month can be caught and prevented earlier.
Learn why this is important.
Same rental property, many ways to manage it.
PowerLAH's flexible metering resolves your most common headaches. Install the sub-meters once, then configure them according to how you actually run your rental property. Change anytime.
One house with 3 bedrooms and 1 common area, metered by 4 meters and shared by 4 tenants. Two of the tenants share the master bedroom. Case 1: each tenant sees their own room's meter plus the shared common area meter. Case 2: the common area meter is split by number of tenants, so the master bedroom pays 1/2 and Room 2 and Room 3 pay 1/4 each, added to their own meter readings. Case 3: for a whole property rental, the readings from all four meters are combined into a single account.
For typical room rentals, each tenant gets access to their own room's meter, plus shared access to common area meter.
Simple Implementation Process
1
On-site Audit
We come over, check your wiring, have a chat.
2
Professional Installation
Certified electricians do the work properly. Safe and sound.
3
System Pairing
Connect the meters to the cloud. Like magic.
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Tenant Onboarding
Show them the dashboard. They top up, you relax.
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Full Autopilot
The system handles everything. Time for holiday!
Simple Pricing
One price per meter. No hidden surprises and no subscription fees.
Promotional price
RM199/meter
RM159/meter
Last 24 units available for the promotional price
Estimate installation costCertifications & Approvals
Our meters are tested and approved to recognised Malaysian and international standards.
IEC
IEC 60947-1:2007 + A1:2010 + A2:2014
IEC 60947-5-1:2016
International Electrotechnical Commission standards for low-voltage switchgear and controlgear. Part 1 covers general rules for equipment up to 1,000 V AC / 1,500 V DC. Part 5-1 covers electromechanical control circuit devices used for controlling, signalling, and interlocking.
EN
EN 60947-1:2007 + A1:2011 + A2:2014
EN 60947-5-1:2017
European Norms aligned with the IEC 60947 series. They apply the same low-voltage switchgear and controlgear requirements for the EU/EEA market, including general rules (EN 60947-1) and electromechanical control circuit devices (EN 60947-5-1).
Certification documents are available upon request.
Installation coverage
Peninsular Malaysia
- Johor
- Kedah
- Kelantan
- Kuala Lumpur
- Melaka
- Negeri Sembilan
- Pahang
- Penang
- Perak
- Perlis
- Putrajaya
- Selangor
- Terengganu
East Malaysia
We support Sabah and Sarawak as well, but you will need to arrange for installation on your own.
About Us
Behind PowerLAH are many years of managing rental properties and automated IoT systems, with secure data practices and real support, so you can focus on your properties instead of paperwork.
Compliance & Trust
Registered entity, secure infrastructure, and transparent operations so you can focus on your properties, not paperwork.
Entity Name
PowerLah PLT (LLP0023456-LGN)
Headquarters
Suite 33-01, 33rd Floor, Menara Keck Seng, 203 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 KL.
Data Security
AES-256 Encryption (super strong weh!)
Support
Knowledge Hub
Tips, guides, and stories for Malaysian landlords managing rental electricity
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Budget 2027 Electricity Bill: How the 800 kWh Waiver Ends for Shared Rentals
Budget 2027 electricity bill measures leave the 800 kWh waiver through 31 December 2026 only. Shared rentals see the 600 kWh line…
Frequently Asked Questions
Getting started
No, PowerLAH sub-meters are installed after your main TNB meter. They track each room's usage separately. Simple installation!
Our team does an on-site audit of your wiring, then certified electricians install the sub-meters inside your distribution board. Safe and sound, no DIY needed.
Right now we offer single-phase smart meters with Wi-Fi connectivity. 4G and three-phase meters are coming soon.
Yes. Shared usage, such as a common area, can be split across the rooms that use it.
Billing & payments
Each room's meter has its own credit balance. Tenants top up in our web app, the balance drops as electricity is used, and supply cuts off automatically when it reaches zero.
They top up in our web app with Touch 'n Go, GrabPay, Boost, FPX online banking, Visa or Mastercard. Instant credit, no waiting.
Yes. Each room can be prepaid, on a fixed monthly allowance, or unlimited. You choose the setting for each room.
Yes. You can add a credit to a tenant's room, and every top-up and charge is recorded, so you can show them the history.
Alerts & control
Our meters have anti-tamper sensors. If anyone tries to play games, you get an alert instantly. Pakcik is watching!
Yes. PowerLah alerts you when a month's electricity use is on track to exceed your property's usual average.
Yes. Switch a room's power off or back on from the platform, with no site visit.
Monitoring & data
Yes. Check each meter's power use and whether it is online, at any time from the platform.
If a meter goes offline, you get an email alert, and another when it reconnects. The meter keeps counting its total usage while offline, and that total syncs back when it reconnects, so your usage is not lost. Automatic cutoff waits until the meter is back online.
Yes. See the electricity and cost for each room, hour by hour, so you can spot where the waste is.
Yes. Our API lets your own software read and manage your property, room and meter data. Ask our team to turn it on for your account.
Tenants
Yes. Tenants can check their room's usage in the web app, and top up when they need to.
Yes. Add as many tenants to a room as needed. A tenant can also be assigned to more than one room, such as their own room and the common area.
Ready to regain control?
Let's chat about your property. No pressure, just honest solutions from one landlord to another.
We promise you will talk to real people - no AI or bots involved.
"Pakcik usually replies within a day. If I'm on holiday with makcik, maybe two days!"
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