Summarize:

A digital electric meter records the amount of electricity your household is using electronically. Thus, a digital electric meter is much simpler to read than a traditional meter because it has fewer readings to decipher. Unlike traditional analog electric meters, many digital meters transmit your meter reading wirelessly to the electric company via radio frequencies. This means that you will not have a meter reader come to your house to read your meter. If you prefer to keep your traditional meter, it may be possible in some municipalities to avoid having a new "smart" meter installed. Your meter should have a digital readout that gives you one long series of numbers. The exact configuration on this readout will vary depending on the manufacturer and the readout could include .  Contact your electric company to get information about your meter if you cannot figure out how to read it on your own. Your electric meter may have a few other numbers displayed, including power status for the meter and reference numbers for the electric company. Remember to only pay attention to the large central string of numbers when trying to figure out your electric usage. Digital electric meters do not reset after every reading. This means that in order to calculate the number of kilowatt hours you have used, you need to keep track of consecutive readings. Subtract the current reading from the last reading you were billed for to get the most recent kilowatt hours used.
Understand the different parts of your meter. Read the numbers on your meter. Calculate the kilowatt hours you have used.