Metered electric

Just had first night on a metered CL. CAMC are trialling meters at 2 club sites so I thought using a metered CL would give me an idea of what costs are involved. With many sites charging £5 per night for electric (one of our regular CSs used to charge £3 but now £5 due to increased energy bills).
We hooked up as usual and didn't change anything regarding our usual consumption. Electric water heater on setting 2 (1800w) left on through night, kettle boiled 3 or 4 times, electric hotplate on cooker used about 20 minutes, fridge on electric as normal. Didn't need heating on as was warm enough. Total consumption from 3pm yesterday to 10am this morning  - 5.58 units, total cost £1.92. Reading print-out given by CL host and show average 24hr daily use as 7.54 units which is £2.60.
So from now on I'll be careful how I choose sites.

Stayed a night at Smeaton Lakes, Newark in December on metered connection. Combi was not working on electric but used everything else including TV most of the afternoon. She waived the electricity charge of 20p!

Peter Brown wrote:Stayed a night at Smeaton Lakes, Newark in December on metered connection.  Combi was not working on electric but used everything else including TV most of the afternoon.  She waived the electricity charge of 20p!

We have used the metered electric at Smeaton lakes for a week we was there last year, I was very surprised how little we actually used, we are there from Friday on a THS for 9 days but will be running on solar and the inverter

Heating is the biggest consumer, if you use it. Generally, electric is included on the sites I stay at on the continent, whether you use it or not. If it’s extra, it varies considerably. One place was €3 extra, tonight is €7.50 extra (both unmetered). One place gave out meters which went inline between your cable and the box. Another place 4 kWh was included, I used 5 kWh but they let me off the extra. Generally though, if it’s not included, I don’t bother. LPG is much cheaper for heating, and I don’t want to wait around for someone to read a meter.

We have stopped on 2 cl's in one week with metered electric, this was in November last year.

the first one was charging @36p pkw h and the 2nd one was charging @45p pkw h 

£5.20 at the first one and around £5.90 at the second, but what a faff when you want to leave the site early.

the first one used to charge £18.00 including electric but now charges £18.00 + electric, the second one used to charge £14.00 including electric but now charges £10.00 + electric.

Guess which one I am unlikely to use in future. lol

Pete

The price per kWh is bound to vary depending on the site owner’s contract with the energy supplier. It is illegal for a reseller (site owner) of metered electricity to sell it for a greater price than he pays so that should rule out profiteering.

That's what the dearer one said and he is actively looking for someone cheaper but, he has already lowered his pitch fee.

Pete

That’s fair. CAMC have done something similar in their metering trial but in some cases have only lowered the pitch fee by £1. That is a joke insult.

I feel a fair few cl's will keep the pitch fee as it is and then + the electricity.

Of course, you don't have to have the electricity, but, don't you just hate standing at the back of the van just waiting for the toast to brown.

This is from the FAQs on the metering trial on the CAMC website....

Will my pitch fee reduce?

Yes. All our current pitch fee's have a built in cost for electricity. When you stay on a Smart Metering trial campsite, this fee will be removed from your pitch at the precalculated average we presently use. This puts you in control of your electrical spend - so you can use a little less and you could save when staying with us, plus, of course reduce your impact on the environment.

Reason 4,537,265 to have solar and not need Ehu!( Excl health reasons of course)
Now on day 16 in N Spain, good but not awesome weather, no ehus, no shortage of electricity.

Deepdale in Norfolk have gone to metered electric. You log on and pay on line as needed. I found it quite easy to use topping up part way through our stay. 
A few years ago we were on a site that had a top up card system for electric. Unfortunately ours ran out when the office was closed so we had a night with no electric. That was only part of the problems during our stay there and I heard later we weren’t the only ones caught out when the office was closed.

I don't have a problem with the principal of metering electricity if there is no profiteering and pitch fees are not raised exorbitantly. But I have noticed pitch fees increasing at well over inflation levels this year (CL's) so we're wild camping on a couple of trips. I don't accept that the cost of running a pice of grass in a field has increased massively from last year to this. To me, it's symptomatic of captive audience milk it. I notice this ethos with insurance this year. 30% increases.

Might it simply be due to the general rise in the cost of living rather than the cost of "running a piece of grass"? 

The CL owner is facing rising costs in all areas of his life from water and fuel used on his CL to the loaf of bread on his table and he needs to make ends meet. The costs snowball across all aspects of our existence.

Tinwheeler wrote:Might it simply be due to the general rise in the cost of living rather than the cost of "running a piece of grass"? 

The CL owner is facing rising costs in all areas of his life from water and fuel used on his CL to the loaf of bread on his table and he needs to make ends meet. The costs snowball across all aspects of our existence.

Arguably but on that basis, each time anything goes up it's a reason to ramp prices. Not in my book I'm afraid. I can go with a general increase in prices to reflect costs as in any business, including living costs but at the moment, I see too much jumping on the bandwagon including campsites. One of our more used CL' s has ramped by 20%

Well, we will never know the truth of the matter but I do feel it’s easy to accuse businesses without knowing the full story.

I'm on a CL which includes 10 units per night in the cost the pitch and 35p per unit thereafter.  In Jan I was on a CL that did the same but charged 67p per unit thereafter and in Feb I was on a CL that didn't include any electricity in the cost of the pitch but charged 67p for every unit used.  There clearly is a wide variation in the cost per unit.  The arrangement in Feb was easiest to manage as we ran everything we could on gas, which is generally cheaper than electricity, so over 4 nights we only used 2.39 units (£1.43 at 60p per unit).  

A problem with metering is not being able to read the figures clearly, which is necessary when trying to keep within the 10 units per day allowance, and having to settle up at the end of the stay which can delay departure.  I understand EVs use Apps to pay for electricity.  It would be a good thing if this technology was introduced onto campsites.

…..and that’s pretty much what CAMC are doing on their metering trial. With their system you preload the app with money rather than pay through an account. It was immediately met with cries of “but I don’t have a smart phone”.

The CL we were on didn't have meters which we could read, the owners had the meter in their house so we couldn't have managed usage if we had wanted to. Just relied on trust.

Do the prepay sites refund unused credit ? Marinas have been charging electricity by meter for decades. Shouldn't be an issue if it is required. I would recommend buying an inline meter to plug between the site box and your umbilical. Then you have a check.

Can you get an inline meter with connections for the site sockets/plugs. I can only find ones with standard 3 pin 13amp sockets.

You can get them Paul, try here, but they aren't cheap.

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Yes short answer but not cheap  On the other habmnd, it'll last a lifetime and be sellable on if you no longer need it. I've put a link from just one source below but not sure if it will work as a link. If not, copy and paste.
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Paulmold wrote:Can you get an inline meter with connections for the site sockets/plugs. I can only find ones with standard 3 pin 13amp sockets.

Yes you can, standard 16A connectors and a blue plastic box with the meter in. A site I stayed at on the Wörthersee was handing them out. On checking out, you took the meter back to reception, and they charged you the difference. Anyone caught bypassing the meter and plugging directly into the cabinet was charged 30 Euros. This is better than having to wait for the meter to be read.