Using Club electricity meters and consumption
If anyone is interested, attached above is a note I made of my experience of using a metered electricity pitch on a Club site. Note the Club has said it will trial another system in the 2nd quarter of 2025? Personally I had no difficulties using the current system or getting a refund of my unused credit. So is the Club searching for the Holy Grail in wanting to improve the system?
If you have not used such a pitch before, you may find it useful or, if you have used the system, perhaps you could comment on your experience.
peedee
Comments
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@peedee Useful overview. I was about to use a commercial site using MeterMacs and found the process quite straight forward, unfortunately we had to cancel so never got to use it in anger! Have to say the refund was easy.
The DG suggested they were looking for a simpler system in one of the magazines. I suppose the simplest system would be coins in a meter but probably not very convenient for all concerned. Perhaps the DG was thinking that a system where you didn't need to log in but could just tap a payment card, sort of akin to charging and EV?
David
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@peedee That's useful and most interesting - thank you. My only experience of metered electricity is at Skybarn Farm CL and their system is quite simple in that you read the meter at start and finish - multiply the number of units used by unit rate and arrive at your bill. They have a form to make this easy! Pay in either cash (in envelope provided) or by BACS.
I can, however, think of a number of reasons why this wouldn't work on a large site - but then wondered if it could be tied into your barrier card so that you wouldn't be let out until you had paid??? Basically back to @Hja 's suggestion but with the ability to pay by BACS. I was also wondering how @DavidKlyne 's suggestion would cope with reunds?
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The problem with using the site office is of course that it might be closed before the 12 departure time even on sites with more than one set of wardens. And of course some do pay for an extra night then leave late the night before when the office is closed and though staff are on call till 8 I wouldn't like to disturb them. Too many variables. The only sure way in online or even better on the pitch or pay station.
The DG (?) stated in that interview the club will only introduce metering when it's as simple as swiping one's bank card.
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It seems to me the club could introduce a rechargeable card we could use on any site that could be topped up from a payment machine outside the office. You could the take any balance with you to the next site and a refund would not be a problem for most of us. I assume though, if the machine could take your money, it could also give it back if you wanted. You would certainly need a system for payment that worked out of office hours as sod's law says it will only run out then. The internet might still not work on some sites, but possibly this might be used, but as the club does not provide security I am doubtful about that method.
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A payment machine outside the office would be vulnerable to theft if it accepted cash (not by members, obviously). If it accepted payment cards it would cut out the middle man to swipe those cards at the meter instead. Therefore, I see a payment machine as being unnecessary.
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I would have thought that any type of payment system on the bollard would be rather costly, as except on service pitches very few only have one outlet. Many have four. Therefore you couldn’t just have a simple swipe / insert card for on / off, there would have to be some mechanism for identifying the socket you want to activate. I’ve not used it yet, but the current system seems OK but would possibly benefit by having an App option.
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