How to make something impossible for someone to use without a manual.

1. Have dials that rotate clockwise and anti-clockwise
2. Put the final unit (1kWh) before all the other units just to confuse the hell out of ‘em
3. Make your instructions inaccurate (see below)

Here is how you are actually supposed to read this horrendous piece of design (or not-designed as the case maybe):

Dial meter 

Your dial meter comprises of six dials. These read from left to right. [Not in my case as you can see from the pic above]

You only need to read the first five dials - starting with the 10,000kWh dial on the left and stopping after the 1 kWh dial.

Don’t read the last dial on the right – it is for testing purposes only.

Remember that the dials move in opposite directions, as shown by the red arrows in the picture below.

Reading a dial meter 

If the pointer falls between two numbers, always read the lower number – in Fig A you would write down the number 4.

If the pointer is directly over a number always record it – in Fig B you would write down the number 5.

If the pointer on a dial falls between 9 and 0, reduce the reading already taken for the dial on the left by one – for example, if your original recorded 5, reduce this to 4.

Following these instructions, the correct meter reading for the dial in the diagram will be 44928.

Source: http://www.edfenergy.com/products-services/for-your-home/my-account/how-to-read-your-electricity-meter.shtml