The Dial Meter. On a dial meter there are five dials, numbered 0 through 9, with the 0 at the top. You'll notice that the numbers go around the face clockwise on some dials, but counterclockwise on every other dial. Read the dials from left to right. When the pointer lies between two numbers, record the smaller number. If the pointer is directly on a number, look at the dial to its immediate right. If that pointer has not passed zero, write down the smaller number. Just subtract the previous reading from the new reading, and you will know how many kilowatt hours you have used. This meter is reading 81384.