diff --git a/ceilometer/hardware/pollsters/cpu.py b/ceilometer/hardware/pollsters/cpu.py
index 5505eb8ec..2d3b00c54 100644
--- a/ceilometer/hardware/pollsters/cpu.py
+++ b/ceilometer/hardware/pollsters/cpu.py
@@ -30,37 +30,37 @@ class _Base(plugin.HardwarePollster):
     INSPECT_METHOD = 'inspect_cpu'
 
 
-class CPUUtil1MinPollster(_Base):
+class CPULoad1MinPollster(_Base):
 
     @staticmethod
     def generate_one_sample(host, c_data):
         return util.make_sample_from_host(host,
-                                          name='cpu.util.1min',
+                                          name='cpu.load.1min',
                                           type=sample.TYPE_GAUGE,
-                                          unit='%',
+                                          unit='process',
                                           volume=c_data.cpu_1_min,
                                           )
 
 
-class CPUUtil5MinPollster(_Base):
+class CPULoad5MinPollster(_Base):
 
     @staticmethod
     def generate_one_sample(host, c_data):
         return util.make_sample_from_host(host,
-                                          name='cpu.util.5min',
+                                          name='cpu.load.5min',
                                           type=sample.TYPE_GAUGE,
-                                          unit='%',
+                                          unit='process',
                                           volume=c_data.cpu_5_min,
                                           )
 
 
-class CPUUtil15MinPollster(_Base):
+class CPULoad15MinPollster(_Base):
 
     @staticmethod
     def generate_one_sample(host, c_data):
         return util.make_sample_from_host(host,
-                                          name='cpu.util.15min',
+                                          name='cpu.load.15min',
                                           type=sample.TYPE_GAUGE,
-                                          unit='%',
+                                          unit='process',
                                           volume=c_data.cpu_15_min,
                                           )
diff --git a/ceilometer/tests/hardware/pollsters/base.py b/ceilometer/tests/hardware/pollsters/base.py
index 99fab0305..d1412e4c6 100644
--- a/ceilometer/tests/hardware/pollsters/base.py
+++ b/ceilometer/tests/hardware/pollsters/base.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class TestPollsterBase(test_base.BaseTestCase):
 
     @mock.patch('ceilometer.pipeline.setup_pipeline', mock.MagicMock())
     def _check_get_samples(self, factory, name,
-                           expected_value, expected_type):
+                           expected_value, expected_type, expected_unit=None):
         mgr = manager.AgentManager()
         pollster = factory()
         cache = {}
@@ -80,3 +80,5 @@ class TestPollsterBase(test_base.BaseTestCase):
         match = [s for s in samples if s.name == name]
         self.assertEqual(expected_value, match[0].volume)
         self.assertEqual(expected_type, match[0].type)
+        if expected_unit:
+            self.assertEqual(expected_unit, match[0].unit)
diff --git a/ceilometer/tests/hardware/pollsters/test_cpu.py b/ceilometer/tests/hardware/pollsters/test_cpu.py
index 0f13638d0..63aa7184b 100644
--- a/ceilometer/tests/hardware/pollsters/test_cpu.py
+++ b/ceilometer/tests/hardware/pollsters/test_cpu.py
@@ -23,16 +23,19 @@ from ceilometer.tests.hardware.pollsters import base
 
 class TestCPUPollsters(base.TestPollsterBase):
     def test_1min(self):
-        self._check_get_samples(cpu.CPUUtil1MinPollster,
-                                'hardware.cpu.util.1min',
-                                0.99, sample.TYPE_GAUGE)
+        self._check_get_samples(cpu.CPULoad1MinPollster,
+                                'hardware.cpu.load.1min',
+                                0.99, sample.TYPE_GAUGE,
+                                expected_unit='process')
 
     def test_5min(self):
-        self._check_get_samples(cpu.CPUUtil5MinPollster,
-                                'hardware.cpu.util.5min',
-                                0.77, sample.TYPE_GAUGE)
+        self._check_get_samples(cpu.CPULoad5MinPollster,
+                                'hardware.cpu.load.5min',
+                                0.77, sample.TYPE_GAUGE,
+                                expected_unit='process')
 
     def test_15min(self):
-        self._check_get_samples(cpu.CPUUtil15MinPollster,
-                                'hardware.cpu.util.15min',
-                                0.55, sample.TYPE_GAUGE)
+        self._check_get_samples(cpu.CPULoad15MinPollster,
+                                'hardware.cpu.load.15min',
+                                0.55, sample.TYPE_GAUGE,
+                                expected_unit='process')
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index ef67325b4..d89dc1e90 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -122,9 +122,9 @@ ceilometer.poll.central =
     switch.flow.duration.nanoseconds = ceilometer.network.statistics.flow:FlowPollsterDurationNanoseconds
     switch.flow.duration.seconds = ceilometer.network.statistics.flow:FlowPollsterDurationSeconds
     switch.flow.packets = ceilometer.network.statistics.flow:FlowPollsterPackets
-    hardware.cpu.util.1min = ceilometer.hardware.pollsters.cpu:CPUUtil1MinPollster
-    hardware.cpu.util.5min = ceilometer.hardware.pollsters.cpu:CPUUtil5MinPollster
-    hardware.cpu.util.15min = ceilometer.hardware.pollsters.cpu:CPUUtil15MinPollster
+    hardware.cpu.load.1min = ceilometer.hardware.pollsters.cpu:CPULoad1MinPollster
+    hardware.cpu.load.5min = ceilometer.hardware.pollsters.cpu:CPULoad5MinPollster
+    hardware.cpu.load.15min = ceilometer.hardware.pollsters.cpu:CPULoad15MinPollster
     hardware.disk.size.total = ceilometer.hardware.pollsters.disk:DiskTotalPollster
     hardware.disk.size.used = ceilometer.hardware.pollsters.disk:DiskUsedPollster
     hardware.network.bandwidth.bytes = ceilometer.hardware.pollsters.net:BandwidthBytesPollster