Our journey began in the early 1980s in Columbus, Ohio, when we identified a significant inefficiency in the market: property owners who included utilities in rent had little incentive for tenants to conserve water. To address this, we introduced submetering as a fair, sustainable solution.

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Founded in 1983 as WaterMaster America, Inc., we initially focused on water submetering. As demand for our services grew, we expanded into Cincinnati and Cleveland, opening a remote office in Cleveland in the 1990s.

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In 2001, we launched a subsidiary, PowerMaster, to offer electric submetering, diversifying our services. By 2003, we rebranded under the name Guardian Water & Power, combining our expertise in water, gas, and electric submetering under one unified brand.

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By the early 2000s, we had become a trusted name in the industry and opened a new location in Raleigh, NC, to meet growing demand. We also expanded to the West Coast, with offices in the Seattle-area and Southern California.

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As technology advanced, so did our solutions. In the mid-2010s, we integrated utility billing and resident charge data with property management software, streamlining operations and enhancing utility management.

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Throughout the 2000s, we partnered with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on submetering initiatives, expanding into new markets. In 2016, we began offering customized billing solutions for public housing authorities. Our first military housing partnership followed in 2018, further diversifying our client base.

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By 2019, we had expanded to new locations in Austin, TX, Jacksonville, FL, and New Jersey. In 2020, we opened an office in Honolulu to meet the growing demand for electric submetering in Hawaii. 

 

​Today, Guardian leads the industry in utility cost recovery, providing innovative solutions that promote sustainability, increase property value, and enhance operational efficiency.