> A meter read every 3 months? All of my utilities (electricity, natural gas, water) have monthly bills.

You don't need to read monthly to bill monthly. Our electricity provider used to read yearly, yet we've always paid monthly.

My gas company has monthly bills, but read the meter annually. They estimate usage other months, you send in any corrections if it's wrong, rnd at the end of the year they read the meter & reconcile any discrepancy.