Whenever any landlord or other person:
(1) Purchases utility service from a public utility and redistributes the same to a tenant in a commercial unit and/or in connection with the operation of that commercial unit (e.g., the operation of the common area); and
(2) Continuously meters the tenant's use in that commercial unit to which it redistributes the utility service and continually meters the common area;
Such landlord or other person may charge and collect from such tenant, by way of rent or otherwise, an amount not to exceed the amount the tenants would be billed by the public utility for such utility service if the same was directly metered by such public utility.