Rising energy costs prompt on site metering

IT’S WINTER. The temperature is below freezing and it’s pitch black outside. But what do you care? You’re tucked up as warm as toast in the van with the fan heater on full, a hot cuppa and the latest Harry Potter DVD.

There’s an M&S gourmet lasagne in the microwave and a bottle of Pinot chilling in the fridge and, best of all, the site owner is footing the bill for all the juice you’re using.

But after the power companies announced another huge hike in electricity prices, this happy state of affairs could be set to change.

Sick of seeing their electricity bills sky-rocket while today’s energy-hungry caravans equipped with all mod-cons hoover up 230v, some site owners are starting to fight back.

Until five years ago, site owners could simply increase the amount they charged for using a hook-up, but in 2003 power industry watchdog OFGEM clamped down on businesses which supply electricity to third parties at a profit.

The upshot was that sites were forced to include the cost of a hook up in their pitch fees.

Since then, average electricity bills have almost doubled with leading suppliers EDF and npower announcing further inflation-busting electricity price hikes of 7.9 per cent and 12.7 per cent last month (January 2008)

In recent years, campsite owners have had to deal with steeply rising energy costs and a steady increase in demand for electricity as caravanners expect to use a wider range of electrical appliances on pitch.

As well as hot water and heating, it’s not unusual for a 21st Century tourer to come loaded with 100-litre plus fridge and more than a dozen individual light fittings.

Factor in an electric kettle, mobile phone charger, TV and DVD player, stereo and laptop computer, and the demand for power is on a par with a small bungalow.

A marked increase in year-round and ‘shoulder season’ touring, while good for campsite bookings, has also pushed up demand as off-peak campers use more energy for heating and lighting during the longer, colder evenings of spring and autumn.

But OFGEM rules mean that they can only charge clients for the exact value of the electricity they use.

As a consequence, electricity meters have started appearing on campsites and if early experiences are any indication, they could soon be coming to a site near you.

A spokesman for the British Holiday & Home Parks Association said: “Metering to individual touring pitches is a subject coming under increasing scrutiny by holiday park owners. The cost of installing meters is significant – more than a thousand pounds for a five-pitch site – and the payback period could be several years.

“But as some park owners have pointed out, increasing pitch fees for all holidaymakers could be considered unfair because there can be a very substantial difference between the electricity consumption of visitors.

“The park would be asking more prudent users of power to underwrite the costs of those who use multiple electrical appliances.”

Award-winning Skelwith Fold Caravan Park in Ambleside, Cumbria, is one of the sites taking a keen interest in steadily rising electricity prices. Owner Henry Wild reckons average power consumption is three or four times higher than it was 15 years ago and touring caravans can, in some cases, use more electricity than a holiday home.

His site has won a string of environment awards in recognition of its conservation policies and Henry sympathises with clients who balk at footing the bill for more power-hungry caravanners and reckons the prospect of getting a bill would make holidaymakers think harder about their usage.

“Devices such as awning heaters and air conditioning units can increase the draw on the park’s power supply considerably,” said Henry. “Some site owners have to hire extra generators to meet demand when all their pitches are in use.”

“We are anxious to do everything we can to make people aware of electricity wastage and its damaging effect on the environment.”

A spokesman for energy price watchdog Energywatch said: “This is about consumers taking personal responsibility for their consumption and the biggest incentive to do that is to know exactly how much they are spending at any one time. Installing meters is a step in the right direction.”

However, the two major clubs are unlikely to adopt metered hook-ups due to the huge expense involved in upgrading the thousands of pitches they provide.

The Caravan Club’s head of sites marketing Emma Cosby said: “We have upwards of 19,000 pitches in peak season and only a small minority don’t have hook-ups. Installing meters on all those pitches would be a huge capital expense and we also think there would be an outcry from our members.

“We looked at the option of installing meters when OFGEM changed the rules and felt it just wasn’t feasible. Despite the numerous increases in the price of electricity since then, I can’t imagine that things are going to change.

“I know from an environmental point of view we probably should meter electricity, but I think there would be uproar if we tried to impose that level of control over our membership.

“However, we are very aware of our environmental responsibilities and we do communicate the importance of switching in-caravan electrical appliances off when they are not being used and we trust our members to be responsible in their use of the hook-ups on our sites.”

A Camping & Caravanning Club spokeswoman said they had been careful to pass on the costs of electricity and providing a hook-up only to those who actually used them.

“Campers are essentially the most 'green' of holiday makers and tend to both be aware of and support their environment in many ways,” said the spokeswoman. “Therefore the majority will always be aware of their electricity consumption. Club sites only provide a maximum of 16 amp electric hook-ups so the amount of appliances you can use at any one time is limited regardless. We believe the system that we use is in essence the fairest to our members and to the environment.”

Site among first to install meters

Our travel experts visited one of the first sites in the UK to start charging for electricity on metered hook-ups – Strawberry Hill Farm in County Durham.

Strawberry Hill Farm

It’s a small site just off the A181 which has 40 touring pitches – all of which have 16-amp hook-ups with integrated meters.

Proprietor Howard Dunkerley invested around £5,000 installing the meters early last year after calculating that they would help him offset some of his soaring electricity bills and hopefully pay for themselves within three years.

The meters monitor electricity consumption and Howard then adds the appropriate charge for units used for the duration of the stay to the final bill.

He expected the meter-based system to offset his bills, but he hadn’t bargained for the impact the meters had on overall consumption – which nearly halved during the course of last year.

“The results have been staggering - I’m looking at breaking even within 18 months,” said Howard. “But this isn’t just about reducing my bills, it’s about doing your bit for the environment.”

Before he installed the meters, Howard said guests would go out all day and leave their caravan heating and lights on, but now they know they will be charged for every unit they use, campers are much more considerate.

We pitched up just before 4pm on a cold November night and wasted no time in hooking up and putting the lights and heating on in our Elddis Odyssey 550 test vehicle.

Just to see how much we could ramp up demand, I switched the fridge over to electricity and made a string of cuppas throughout the evening.

As the outside temperature dropped below zero, the heating remained on all night and after a hot meal, I did a couple of hours’ writing before watching a DVD on the laptop and then plugging it in to recharge.

Hot water usage was minimal and I didn’t hang around for long in the morning as I needed to get over the border to Scotland before lunchtime.

So what was the damage? All this lovely electricity cost the princely sum of 48p – a snip for facilitating such a lavish lifestyle on-site.

* Debate on our forums whether there's an environmental case for installing meters on hook-ups or whether electricity should continue to be included in pitch fees.

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