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My wife read an RV travelers blog that said many parks charge more than they are actually billed for the electricity monthly renters use.  Most of the monthly rates we are seeing certainly appear to offer a pretty good discount over daily/weekly, but most of those include electric.  If they have up-charges on electric use, is this a way of making up the discount?  What has been your experience with separate electrical costs at RV parks?

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We stayed at a RV park in Tomball, TX that require a $100 electric deposit for the one month (Oct) we stayed there on top of the monthly lot rent. At the end of the month when we got ready to leave, I showed them the meter reading in/out and at their inflated rate it still came out to $55 of electric actually used. They refused a refund and when I asked them what would have happened if I had used over the $100, they said they would have billed me.

Greg

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15 hours ago, freestoneangler said:

My wife read an RV travelers blog that said many parks charge more than they are actually billed for the electricity monthly renters use. 

This really does not surprise me. Consider that while they may charge us a bit more than what they pay for electricity the parks also have to maintain the infrastructure within the park confines. Personally I do not mind them making a little money on the electricity if I can count on reliable, stable power at the pedestal. 

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Good business practice is to add a small surcharge to everything that passes through the business - thus it make perfect sense to me that there would / should be an up-charge to electric rates.

Not only that - look at the crazy convoluted rates charged by APS in Arizona: https://www.aps.com/en/residential/accountservices/serviceplans/Pages/saver-choice.aspx?src=RB

The rate can vary from $0.24 kwh to $0.03 kwh  - how would you  bill a customer for using your electric?

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One thing you have to understand is there a lot of variables when it comes to what the parks get charged for electric, some don't own there electric system and the power company's set the rates. Other own (most) their system and they are charged for their power at the meter where it comes into the park or meters at different areas of the park. Many power company's lower the rate to the park or any other business by how much they use, the more usage by month the cheaper it gets or like on my electric shop we had a demand meter and my rate would go up if I demanded the meter over a set period of time. So for rv parks it can be a guessing game what to charge per month depending on how they are billed. Also remember that the parks just like everyone else pays a base charge just to have a metered service before paying for any power, many times it goes up with the size of the service. 

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2 hours ago, Bobi and Dick McKee said:

I know in some states like Nevada it is against the law to charge more for power than you are charged.  It came abut in renters laws.

Michigan is another that prohibits over charges on electricity . 

Goes around , comes around .

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The park we were at in Yuma, AZ. charged 18 cents per kilowatt hour for monthly's. Quite a few parks also charge to read the meters. The park owns the infrastructure including the meters. The RV parks are allowed to resell the power. Had we still been in the park our last bill from the RV park would have been approx. $40.00 more than what we pay APS on our own RV lot.  Now, mobile home parks are a different animal. APS owns the infrastructure and of course the meters. We have friends that live in a modular and park model RV park APS also owns the infrastructure and meters there, and the folks are billed directly from APS.

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10 hours ago, Bobi and Dick McKee said:

I know in some states like Nevada it is against the law to charge more for power than you are charged.  It came abut in renters laws.

I am staying at a park in Carson City NV, and when I called around, most parks had electric billed separately, and the rates were different.  All within a couple cents of each other, but they were different.....

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I'm at a 55+ park near Phoenix. Staying Oct thru Dec. Just got my first month electric bill for Oct. over $200. I have never had an electric bill go over $100. Boy was I surprised. 

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On 11/1/2017 at 5:11 PM, freestoneangler said:

Most of the monthly rates we are seeing certainly appear to offer a pretty good discount over daily/weekly, but most of those include electric.

It has been my experience that nearly all parks have a monthly rate that does not include electricity. The upcharge used to be quite common but many states are no prohibiting that, most likely because they suspected excessive fees. 

On 11/1/2017 at 7:10 PM, gjhunter01 said:

We stayed at a RV park in Tomball, TX that require a $100 electric deposit for the one month (Oct) we stayed there on top of the monthly lot rent. At the end of the month when we got ready to leave, I showed them the meter reading in/out and at their inflated rate it still came out to $55 of electric actually used. They refused a refund and when I asked them what would have happened if I had used over the $100, they said they would have billed me.

Texas is also one of the states where up charges are illegal and I suspect what they did was also. If you still have your receipts it might be worthwhile to contact the TX-PUC. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

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Texas

Assuming that you decide that paying the deposit is the best way to proceed, the Texas Public Utility Commission has rules that govern the amount of the deposit, how the deposit is safeguarded, interest paid on the deposit, and when the deposit is returned.

The total deposit collected by a retail electric provider cannot exceed the greater of one-fifth of your estimated annual billing or the sum of the estimated billings for the next two months.  The electric supplier can use reasonable customer class usage averages to estimate the amount of the deposit required.  After 12 months of electric service, you can request your supplier to recalculate the amount based on your actual usage.  If you are a customer that qualifies for a rate reduction program, any deposit that exceeds $50 can be paid in two equal installments.  Otherwise, expect to pay the deposit upfront in a single payment.

Texas retail electric providers are required to keep meticulous records on all deposits held.  They are required to maintain records of the name and address of each depositor, the amounts and dates of each deposit, and a log of all transactions relating to each deposit.  The retail electric provider is also required to make reasonable efforts to return any unclaimed deposits.

Deposits held by retail electric providers must be paid interest at an annual rate no lower than that established by the Texas Public Utility Commission.  The commission sets the deposit interest rates each December.  These interest rates tend to be slightly lower than those offered by financial institutions and can be negligible depending on prevailing money market rates.  Interest is paid only on deposits held more than 30 days.  Based on your preference, the interest can be paid to you, credited to your account, or returned with the deposit.

A deposit held by an energy supplier must be returned to a Texas residential electric customer when that customer has paid bills for service for 12 consecutive months without having any late payments.  If you switch to a new retail electric service provider, the deposit and accrued interest can be transferred to the new provider based on mutual agreement of all parties.  The retail electric provider can also return the deposit as a bill credit or subtract from it any amounts that you still owe.

Finally, be sure to check the Your Rights as a Customer disclosure or the Terms of Service provider by the electric supplier for information about their deposit policy, your right to post a guarantee in lieu of a deposit, how the deposit may be refunded, and the circumstances under which the provider can increase the deposit amount.

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Interesting information. That parks are allowed, at least in some states it appears, to add surcharges above what the park pays for the electricity is new to us.  It sounds like this has caught a few of the forum members off guard.  I can see the argument about the parks having to cover cost of maintaining electric service equipment not covered by their power company.  However, if they do this, they should be required to clearly show the rate they pay and what the increase will be when you sign-up (perhaps some do?). 

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On 11/2/2017 at 7:26 PM, Twotoes said:

I'm at a 55+ park near Phoenix. Staying Oct thru Dec. Just got my first month electric bill for Oct. over $200. I have never had an electric bill go over $100. Boy was I surprised. 

Well to quote myself above. I inquired when I paid the electric bill and was told that my park does not include an up charge. The bill was high because the utility company charges an up charge during the summer months based on your usage. Starting with my Nov bill there will be no utility company upcharge for the winter months. 

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Currently, the only park we stay at long enough to have a separate electric usage charge is the SKP's Sumter Oaks near Bushnell, FL. If there's been no change from last February, the rate is 12 cents per KWH, and our typical monthly bill has always been in $30-$35 range on a 30 amp site there. This winter we expect to be on a 50 amp site, but I don't expect any significant difference. If we were there in the summer heat running both A/C's, I'm sure the bill would be considerably higher than that of course.

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Some places have tiered electrical rates, so the price per kilowatt-hour goes up as you use more.  One campground in the southern California mountains we stay at said a small trailer running a space heater can end up using $300 a month in electricity since they end up at a tier where each kilowatt-hour is over 50c.  Yes, this also applies to houses and apartments.

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1 hour ago, Bill Joyce said:

Some places have tiered electrical rates, so the price per kilowatt-hour goes up as you use more.  One campground in the southern California mountains we stay at said a small trailer running a space heater can end up using $300 a month in electricity since they end up at a tier where each kilowatt-hour is over 50c.  Yes, this also applies to houses and apartments.

Sounds like good places to stay away from . Thieves .

Goes around , comes around .

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14 minutes ago, Pat & Pete said:

Sounds like good places to stay away from . Thieves .

That is the CA way to encourage energy conservation. I don't believe the park is the source of that but the power company and their regulators are. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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We are currently Work Camping in an RV Park in Arizona.  BOY===  I have really had my eyes opened up.  The state and the city both tax on the bottom line of both the site fee and the electric.  Some of our Guests do anything they can think of to finagle their reading to get by on the least amount possible.  This park has about has about a 5 month busy period in which to make their profit.  During this period the electric bill runs well in to 5 figures.  I have been shocked to see some of the finagling that some of the guests do.  Of course I'm pretty sure these are the same people that let their dog poop all over everywhere, have loud parties after hours, park their cars in the middle of their sites, etc., etc.

There are of course lots of really nice Guests. Ones that are real pleasures to have, but there are more than you would guess that drive the owners crazy.  

 

BUT, we have to be nice to them all.  My DW has threatened to take a paint ball gun to some of those.  So if you see "campers" running around with paint ball splatters all over their clothes, you know that she was pushed over the edge!  Of course we won't be there, because the customer is always right, and the employee is always wrong.

Of course the customer may be "Splattered" in their rightness!  :P:D

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On 11/2/2017 at 7:26 PM, Twotoes said:

I'm at a 55+ park near Phoenix. Staying Oct thru Dec. Just got my first month electric bill for Oct. over $200. I have never had an electric bill go over $100. Boy was I surprised. 

Is the park on APS or SRP?   Our October bill for our park model was $85, we arrived 10-2.  October was very warm so I would expect a higher than normal usage, but unfortunately, October is now included as a SUMMER month.  

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When I was working in Los Angeles, the RV park where I was staying gave monthly tenants the option of paying a flat rate of $75 per month for electricity, or you could set up your own account with DWP, LA's city owned utility and get billed directly by them.  All of the sites had electric meters, the city came around once a month and read them, adding the unsubscribed meters' usage to the park's master account.

I set up an account with DWP and the whole time I was there, I never used more than what was allowed under the "lifeline" tier, the cheapest level.  Using the air conditioner in the summer and electric heat in the winter my bills seldom went over $40-50 a month.

The park was charged at higher, commercial rates which is why they set their electric fees at $75 if you got your power through their account.

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