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We picked up a new caravan on Thursday and in discussions with the dealer he said as well as paying for an EHU pitch you also get charged for the amount of electricity that you use - is this correct?

Most sites include the cost in the pitch fee. Generously they say the electricity is free. (ho ho) Worth just checking with the site you book that there will be no extra charge for the power.

Phil

I think what he means is that electricity is sold by a metered supply. I think in the UK this is fairly rare. Rather interesting in the latest Caravan Club Council Report in the lastest Mag they were expressing concern that the use of electricity had rocketed during the winter. They don't say what they intend doing about it but putting meters in would be a fairer way rather than just raising the pitch fee to compensate.

David

We have just come back from a site we use on a regular basis. The owners have been monitoring electric charges on some of their seasonal pitches after receiving a bill for 2 months of £2000! They did not have a full site during this period.

One pitch used £23 of electric in a 24 hour period. They had a washing machine and a clothes drier and left the heating on all day. They have now moved on to pastures new but it just shows what the costs are. I wouldn't be surprised to see more site owners putting in coin meters although that is a considerable cost which has to be recouped somehow..

As prices rise for electric, I think we are going to see changes to pitch charges during the winter in the future. You can't recover much if you are only charging £10 a night and don't have any control over what power is used.

Found this happened in Switzerland and back in the 80's I recall a site in Scotland that had coin meters. I would have thought keeping the amp rating low as they do in Europe would constrain this, alebit leading to a lot of fuse blowing!

Really the number of eletrical items some people now run  plus much higher costs means something is going to have to give.

Problem is that it's probably just easier for them to raise pitch fees.

   £23 pounds in one day is an awfully large amount of electricity, it wasn't a mobile cannabis farm was it?

   But seriously, I've heard of a few sites that have brought in individual pitch metering, and I think it will soon become more widespread. 30-odd years ago when hook-ups first became common, vans in general had a battery charger, fridge, maybe a socket for a TV and not much more. Nowadays our vans are full of electrical items which we all use to the full because of our "we've paid for it so we'll use it mentality." For example how often do we hear about the use of fan or halogen heaters to heat awnings which, after all, aren't exactly well insulated to begin with. Personally I think metering is a fairer way pay for our electricity usage.

            Pete.

Quote: Originally posted by kellogs on 06/3/2010

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We picked up a new caravan on Thursday and in discussions with the dealer he said as well as paying for an EHU pitch you also get charged for the amount of electricity that you use - is this correct?

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Quote: Originally posted by Ulti-Mates on 06/3/2010

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Quote: Originally posted by kellogs on 06/3/2010

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We picked up a new caravan on Thursday and in discussions with the dealer he said as well as paying for an EHU pitch you also get charged for the amount of electricity that you use - is this correct?

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The regulations changed some years ago, so that UK sites are not permitted to re-sell electricty.  Therefore, it is now the practice to charge you an increased overall price for a pitch with electric hookup, instead of charging you for your consumption.  It was something brought in by Ofgem.

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I think the key point about re-selling of electricity is that it can't be resold at a profit. The whole point of the rule change was to prevent unscrupulous landlords selling on electricity at a massive profit. There has been much debate as to whether it simply applies the just the electricity element (no pun intended!) or whether the cost of installing/maintenance can also be shared out in a nightly cost. The Caravan Club came done in favour of an inclusive cost as a way of satisfying the rules but a lot of campsites still make a separate charge for electricity. It seems that campsite need to charge more especially during the winter.

David