Vloggers Experience of Metering

H&T

We don't know what the plans are yet for the Club to roll it out to the whole network. People like your good selves will have the experience of use elsewhere as you note. What will be interesting is the reaction of those that currently don't pay much attention to electricity usage when they are away. I wonder if it will be the next "Tin Hat" explosion on CT? Obviously the Club could temper the reaction by having realistic reductions in site fees and I suppose it could be a non event. We will all, no doubt, wait with baited breath!

David

Maybe electricity costs will nudge things towards the way campsites operate in France - where nine out of ten sites without meters close for the winter and caravanning is purely a summer sport.

And separate Aires for motorhomers with built in gas tanks just have one or two metered socket outlets for a hour or so of battery charging.

Is the Club vainly trying to make one size fit all?  

And separate Aires for motorhomers with built in gas tanks just have one or two metered socket outlets for a hour or so of battery charging.

Not on the camping car park network, which has expanded rapidly over the last few years. The majority have unmetered bollards for most of the pitches, although they are restricted to 6 and occasionally 4 amps.

Of course the camperstop in Spain don't close over winter but they do charge extra for ehu. Some have meters some just charge a fixed rate usually €6. We have used a few of this type but prefer the metered ones as we know we don't use €6 worth of electric a day. Maybe over winter you might if you run your heating and water on electric but most Europeans use gas.

I like the convenience of electric when stay for a few days but quite happy to go without for a night or 2. We also have refillable gas.

Given the way some campers use electric I think many are going to be in for a big shock if pitch prices are not reduced sufficiently. 

We were on a CL last summer that had metered electric, with a £3 pn allowance in the site fee - anything above that to be chargeable.  The owner didn't actually charge anything in the summer months, cos he reckoned the hassle of getting the readings and billing was not worth it as most vans used £3pn or less.

Said he had a group of 3 motorhomes in one March.  Two were 'normal' size.  One was massive, all bells and whistles.  Reckons that one he billed for £50 for 3 nights electric ...

We saw someone using one of those clothes driers that have a heater underneath the clothes airer then a cover goes over it all. My words to OH was would they be doing that if they were on a meter. It was good weather and the clothes would have dried fine outside. 

While ever the Club doesn’t control individual usage on its sites, this is the sort of thing that will be going on. We have said for years that the Club is pricing out more frugal power users, as it’s policy is to blanket charge across all users. It’s reaping the seeds it has self sown now, there will be a good few who won’t be tempted back to Club Sites even if metering comes in, unless the option not to plug in is very worthwhile. Metering gives everyone the option to choose how they want to holiday. It is after all, what we all do at home……….

The area where it is not a level playing field is our domestic charge is around 28p per unit,yet when I visited Wyatts Covert back in the summer each unit then was priced at 42p ( or around that ).

No matter how careful you are with the usage,you are still charged more.

I think the vlogger mentions similar in his vlog.

Which will be the then commercial rate. 

Fozzie

I assume that is because they charge commercial rates, which are not necessarily cheaper than domestic ones? Before we cancelled we had intended to stay at Cofton Holiday Park near Dawlish earlier in the year. They run their electricity through a meterage system and use the same people the Club do. From memory it was about .35p Kwh, that is more expensive than I pay at home by about .07 Kwh. No doubt all camping organisations have different contracts unlike our home one which is still governed to some extent by the regulator? 

I do have a question for you as you seem to be one of the few that have actually used metering on a Club site. Can you tell us what extra infrastructure was in place at the bollard to accept the metering option? In your view would it take a lot to expand the experiment  at a faster rate as we seem to have very little information from the Club,  not even sure Ashridge Farm is up and running yet?

David