Electric Charges for campgrounds.

TXBobcat · Mar 28, 2012

We are in Rockport TX. We will have been here a month on April 4th. The campground is charging $0.15 per KWH. So far we have used about 644kwh from what the meter says. When we were in Livingston TX a weeks electric was about $26 at $0.12 per KWH.

I use to work for the electric company in Dallas/FT Worth and know that a lot of meters have to be checked ever so often to make sure they are working right. I am just wondering if the meters in the RV parks are ever required to be check for accuracy.

We run the A/C at night to reduce the humidity and give white noise. We operate the HWH on Electric, a 5cu ft. freezer, A/C in the afternood but shut it off after about 5pm and open up the windows and use the fans. TV is normally on all day. Plus all the miniscule electric users such as detectors and alarms.

What are your thoughts. Do you think you are getting an accurate reading of the electric you are using and what do you think is a fair price.

I know we can use propane but I we just use propane for cooking.

BC

codycarver · Mar 28, 2012

Hey guys, I just looked at my bill, kinda wish I hadn't... "energy block 1, net power cost demand block 2, renewable revenue adj block, ect, ect". Anyway, if I divide my bill by the kilowatts used it comes out to 10 cents per KWH.

danemayer · Mar 28, 2012

We were in Port Aransas for a week last April - temps were in the mid to high 90s and we had both A/C units running pretty much full time during the day. W/H on electric. The electric bill was $51.00 - don't know the rate per kw hour.

Ray LeTourneau · Mar 28, 2012

Our average usage is between 500 and 600 kwh per month. $$/kwh has varied from .11 to .19 depending on the park & the area.
A couple years ago we had an abnormally high bill when we first returned to Coloma, WI from TX. We complained and they changed out the meter but we received no refund. The next months bill was almost half but I guess we were S.O.L.
Hot water heaters, reefers and spare freezers take up a fair amount of juice. Add a 15,000 btu A/C unit to the mix and it only gets worse.
Those old meters with the dials are a bit tricky to read too...

recumbent615 · Mar 28, 2012

I also questioned the amount of Power I was changed at a park in FL in January. I had taken a photo of the meeter the day I arrived and the day I left - Then when I checked out I calculated the power usage - and compared it to the check out bill - it seemed that no one read the meeter after the last folks left so the last reading was about 1200KWH over what Mine should have been ( 3 months since they had checked in ) My bill was adjusted based on my photo's down to 400KWH for 5 weeks usage. I've been thinking of getting some kind of internal meeter for the Rig that I could reset when I check in Long Term and read when I check out.. I have not done the research on it - but I will before my next long stay...

Kevin

olcoon · Mar 28, 2012

While we were in Rockport & in the RGV in Jan & Feb this year, we checked out a lot of parks asking their rates, & price of elec. There was quite a difference in the charge for elec. I don't have the prices handy, but on some of them there was quite a difference. I was kind of surprised, but a few of the parks stated that the reason they were cheaper than the one down the road was a different elec. company.

SouthernNights · Mar 29, 2012

Bob,
I can not tell you if that is a high bill or not but there is a law that states the amount the cg can charge over and above the electric kw charge is. I cant remember where I read that-it might have been in some Escapees news letter, it may be a state to state law. If I remember what I read- I thought it said they could not charge more than 4 cents above electric company or co-op charge.

Also, here on this forum I remember reading a post/ thread where some actually found the break even point of running their WH on propane and electric. Of course that all changes with the price of propane and electric charge. I was thinking it was Ray. I will look for that thread tonight when I have more time.

There is a meter you can buy that shows kw used. As Kevin said, you might try one for comparison sake.
Here is one:
http://www.submetering4less.com/industrial.htm

jbeletti · Mar 29, 2012

Cool meter Larry. Wondering if the residential one would work for RV applications (link)? Looks like they'll connect to L1 and L2. For $260, not bad either.

Okay, who will be the first RVer to install their own meter on their RV

Jim

Ray LeTourneau · Mar 29, 2012

SouthernNights said:
Also, here on this forum I remember reading a post/ thread where some actually found the break even point of running their WH on propane and electric. Of course that all changes with the price of propane and electric charge. I was thinking it was Ray. I will look for that thread tonight when I have more time.

http://www.submetering4less.com/industrial.htm

You're right Larry, it was me. I did that down in Mission at Seven Oaks. They were charging .19/kwh.
When I talked to them about the high charge their explanation was that the owner "locked in" to that rate a year previous fearing that rates were only going to get higher. My guess is they were just charging a premium over the actual rate. I'll look for that post I made too. That should be fun.

WilmanJim · Mar 29, 2012

We found while we were in San Diego that it was cheaper for us to use Electric as it was costing about $26.00 a week for propane and with all electric it was about $18.00 a week. That's was at $.15/kWh.
This meter should also work.
http://www.ekmmetering.com/ekm-mete...-100a-120-240-volt-3-wire-60hz-ekm-25ids.html

Jim

wdk450 · Mar 29, 2012

Just compare these electric charges to running a generator at $5 a gallon to make all of your electricity.

wingfoot · Mar 29, 2012

WHAT!! You guys are being charged for your electricity above a beyond the campground fee. Is this for extended stays/full timers or is this something that hasn't hit my area yet? We stay in a lot of National CG's and State Parks...haven't seen it anywhere in our travels...

cookie · Mar 29, 2012

When staying at an RV park long term, they normally charge a monthly site fee plus electric.
Some even charge for water usage.

Peace
Dave

wingfoot · Mar 29, 2012

cookie said:
When staying at an RV park long term, they normally charge a monthly site fee plus electric.
Some even charge for water usage.

Peace
Dave

Oh...OK. We're kinda a rolling stone never stay anyplace for long.

Herbiesrig · Mar 29, 2012

We have been in the Aransas Pass area for 6 years and here at Southern Oaks we pay .14kwh... we had some discussion about kwh charge and we were told that legally the park can not charge you more than what they get charged...

jayc · Mar 29, 2012

I have been told that it is illegal for a park to charge an "up-fee" for electricity. They must simply pass along the charges from the power company. I haven't researched it for myself.

TXBobcat · Mar 29, 2012

cookie said:
When staying at an RV park long term, they normally charge a monthly site fee plus electric.
Some even charge for water usage.

Peace
Dave

I heard that also. I usually look up a couple of RV Parks when we travel and if I ran into one that charged for water I think I would keep on going.

Keep this up and we will make them all KOA's (Keep On Adding).

I have found that a lot are now charging for electric for a week stay. I think many have just started that.

BC

wesley1963 · Mar 29, 2012

jayc said:
I have been told that it is illegal for a park to charge an "up-fee" for electricity. They must simply pass along the charges from the power company. I haven't researched it for myself.

We were involved in a dispute about this very thing. I found out from people in the park that the electric rate charged was higher than the park paid. This was verified after several calls to the utility company. We were given a number to call the regulatory commission to file it with the state since it is a public utility. There were no problems getting the rate back down once the park found this out.
On the flip side, since a campground is a business, the commercial rate may be higher than the residential rate. Another thing is that sections in the park may be paying substantial rate differences since there may be more than one electric company or co-op supplying the park.

danemayer · Mar 29, 2012

When we stayed at Gulf Waters Resort in Port Aransas last year, I was disappointed that the weekly rate did not include electricity. There was a discounted price for the weekly rate, but the cost of electricity was about the same as the discount. So the discount would only mean something in cool weather.

Rickhansen · Mar 29, 2012

Like others have said, Campgrounds can't legitimately charge you more for electricity than they are being charged because they are not utility companies. As such they can only proportion their bill to the tenants. They can add fees or charges for the other services, such as reading the meter if they choose. They also do not have to install certified meters or insure that they are in proper calibration, as they are only sub-metering.

[Wes, good to see you on here - hope all is well with you and Katrina]

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