Abstract: An apparatus and method for determining the power demand from a conventional watt-hour meter including a disk having a black mark imprinted on an edge thereof wherein the disk rotates in proportion to the amount of electrical power demanded by the energized electrical equipment connected thereto. The method comprising the steps of: positioning a scanning laser beam in front of the rotating disk of the watt-hour meter in a position transverse to the rotating disk such that the edge of the rotating disk is within the field of view of the scanning laser beam, scanning and then detecting the passings of the black mark as the disk rotates through at least two revolutions and computing the power demanded by the connected and energized electrical equipment based upon the amount of time between successive passings of the black mark.