James McClintock
Posts 76
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Over the past few years, there has been a lot of discussion about installing meters on electric service. There are basically two reasons presented for installing meters.
With meters in place, the electric expense is more equitably distributed to those who use it. Since the charge for electric service is currently built into the dues, a member who lives at SRCA full time for 6 months pays the same for electric as a member who visits the campground one or two times a year.
If members had to pay for the electric they use, it would be more likely that members would conserve energy.
Arguments for not installing meters are equally compelling with the primary reason being that the cost of installing meters and the on-going costs of maintaining meters and billing the charges would out-weigh the benefits.
At this point, there are more questions about this project than answers. For instance,
What percentage of our total electric bill can be attributed to member usage rather than common area?
What will it cost to install the meters?
Who will read the meters and how often?
How much will it cost to send out bills and collect the money?
What happens if a member doesn’t pay his bill?
Will the dues go down if members are paying their own electric?
What will the Board do with the extra money that is generated by this process?
Will there still be limits on electric usage?
Is it really worth the effort?
It’s going to take a lot of thought and discussion to answer these and other questions. But to begin the process, the Board has authorized a test to evaluate member usage. A sample of member sites will be selected and meters installed. Then, electric usage of the sample sites will be monitored throughout the coming season. From that sample, the projected member usage can be calculated.
If you would like to volunteer to be a sample site, simply complete the form that you received with your invoice and return it to the office.
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