Is the marina overcharging me?

[garmstro55]

I purchased a boat in 2018 that has a single 50 Amp, 240 Volt shore power requirement and connection. The original power stanchion at the marine had two 30-amp 120 volt connections, but the marina had them re-wired to give me my single 50A/240V connection that I needed.

Since then I have always thought that my metered electric bill was higher than it should be. The only thing we leave on when we leave the marina is the fridge and the battery charger. One week I accidentally left the A/C running for a week and the bill that month was $111. BTW it is a Mainship 400, 40 feet long with a 16k and a 12k btu unit fed by a single water pump.

I occurred to me recently that perhaps when they re-wired the connection, it affected the meter that they read to bill me for my electric.

So, my question is, would the electric meter show a higher than actual reading due to the circuit being re-wired as described above. Would the reading be doubled? Or would the meter capture an accurate reading on any voltage?

 

[STB]

28kbtu/hr is about 8kw/h.
24hrs/day * 7 days is about 1,344 kw.
At $0.16/kw, that is $215.04

But the compressor wasn't on 100% of the time, right?
Maybe 1/2 of the time?
$107.52

...and I didn't account for any of your other uses.

It all depends upon what the duty cycle was over that interval, how long it really was (5 day "work week" or 10 day "Internet Hyperbole Week".), what your normal usage/bill is, what your actual rate per kwh is, etc.

It doesn't at all strike me as impossible or even unlikely. Just depends upon all of the contributing factors-- which I don't know.

 

[ranger58sb]

So, my question is, would the electric meter show a higher than actual reading due to the circuit being re-wired as described above. Would the reading be doubled? Or would the meter capture an accurate reading on any voltage?

Gary, if it helps. our last 5 electricity bills have been $146.35, $62.83, $95.40, $80.10, and $35.40. Single 50A/250V shorepower supply, individually metered. Larger boat than yours, but maybe yo can extrapolate something...

The marina isn't strict about 30-day monthly billing, which speaks in part to why the swing. Also, we'd been out cruising for some of that second bill, so that's maybe why it was lower.

The fifth invoice was still "winter time" where I wasn't on there often. But starting with that fourth one, those are generally with only the fridges/freezer ON unless I'm there working on something and have the ACs running. Otherwise, when we're not aboard, we keep our ACs set to ON but with the thermostats at 80°.

-Chris

 

[O C Diver]

Maryland has a law (I had a charter boat in Ocean City for 20 years) that limits how many cents per kilowatt a business can mark up electricity, but they can mark it up. The marina can also charge you a customer fee (just as most utilities do).

Power pedestals have a small window that shows the reading of the killowatt meter. So it's easy to see the reading and see what your consumption is. These mechanisms aren't of the quality of a residential electric meter and do go bad. A few years ago I had a several hundred dollar electric bill and then one in the thousands. The marina recognized the meter had gone bad, replaced the meter and credited me the last 2 bills.

I would ask the marina for an itemized bill.
Killowatts consumed
Price per kilowatt
Tax
And any other fee

Ted

 

[Bmarler]

If you don’t think the meter is accurate you could install a monitor.
https://www.amazon.com/Emporia-Moni...=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

 

[tiltrider1]

I doubt you are being over charged. More likely you for got to turn off the water heater. My entertainment center even when it is off still uses 155 watts. If the AC is off the refrigerator runs constantly. What is the status of your battery bank? You could be using power there.

You should have an amp meter built into the boat. Periodically monitoring it to get a base line will give you a good indication of your monthly power consumption.

 

[SteveK]

Why don't you install a meter on the boat and then compare with the marina meter.

Are they charging too much, of course they all do that. My boat with 30 amp cord gets charged a flat $63 per month. My house averages $76 per month. It is what it is.

 

[garmstro55]

Thanks for all the replies, maybe I am not being overcharged but the entire pattern of the billing is suspect, not just the $111 bill. For example, we were there one weekend in the month o April, no A/C and no fridge and the bill was over $40, for basically the battery charger.

What I was hoping for if someone with better electrical skills than me could comment on whether the power meter could be erroneous because it was installed to measure a 30A 120V circuit but is now seeing a 50A 240V circuit.

 

[HeadedToTexas]

You guys pay for electricity? Man, we have it good.

 

[psneeld]

What are the base charges there? There are always extras on electric bills.

The marina may have surcharges on top of the electric company...I don't think the marina can charge the electric bill directly (has to be shown separately) but they may be able to add things if on a marina bill invoice.

 

[O C Diver]

What I was hoping for if someone with better electrical skills than me could comment on whether the power meter could be erroneous because it was installed to measure a 30A 120V circuit but is now seeing a 50A 240V circuit.

Generally on power pedestals, the killowatt meter has a coil that goes over each positive power cable these coils sense the current flow and feed that information to the killowatt meter. This is similar to a clamp on amp meter. The clamp which goes around the positive wire sense the current flow and converts that information to amperage. I can't see how this coil would mistakenly sense more amperage than was flowing through the coil. But as I mentioned previously, the killowatt meter may not be working correctly.

Ted

 

[OldDan1943]

My metered electric bill is about $250/month. That includes + percentage for dock and misc repair.
Slip owners get free WiFi and pump outs. Transits or renters have to pay for those services so I guess you shouldn’t complain too much. (Chuckle)

 

[ranger58sb]

Thanks for all the replies, maybe I am not being overcharged but the entire pattern of the billing is suspect, not just the $111 bill. For example, we were there one weekend in the month o April, no A/C and no fridge and the bill was over $40, for basically the battery charger.

That $35.40 bill I listed was for Feb 2023, in water, battery chargers only. I think that much be our lowest baseline.

The bill for the preceding Dec was $56.70, our next lowest, and included some time I was aboard winterizing our AC system.

Our invoices include the meter readings.

-Chris

 

[Bmarler]

It’s doubtful the meter is overstating your usage. Usually, if a meter is inaccurate, it’s going to read less. I’ve only had it happen once, and the meter made all kinds of noise as the little wheel went round and round.
There is always the possibility that someone reading the meter is misreading it too. I’ve had that happen.
A totalizing meter of your own is the only way to double check the marinas charge.

 

[O C Diver]

It’s doubtful the meter is overstating your usage. Usually, if a meter is inaccurate, it’s going to read less. I’ve only had it happen once, and the meter made all kinds of noise as the little wheel went round and round.
There is always the possibility that someone reading the meter is misreading it too. I’ve had that happen.
A totalizing meter of your own is the only way to double check the marinas charge.

The kilowatt meters in power pedestals are almost never mechanical. As I mentioned previously, there are coils around the positive cables that the electronic meter measures. From there it pulses a mechanical counter to display consumption. When the meter fails, I don't know if it sends too many pulses, the pulses are too long, or the meter advances more than one time for each pulses. Make no mistake, a failing meter can read too much consumption!

Ted

 

[FlyingScot]

Energy is energy. It doesn't matter what the voltage or amp rating of the pedestal. I suspect they raised the price after the upgrade to repay themselves for the expenditure.

Itemized bill before and after the upgrade should tell you what you need to know. Most places buy/sell energy in the form of KwH. Kilowatt-hours.

 

[tiltrider1]

Energy is energy. It doesn't matter what the voltage or amp rating of the pedestal. I suspect they raised the price after the upgrade to repay themselves for the expenditure.

Itemized bill before and after the upgrade should tell you what you need to know. Most places buy/sell energy in the form of KwH. Kilowatt-hours.

Not likely the case. Most states do not allow commercial businesses to resell electricity at a profit. This is why you often see fees for reading meters.

 

[FlyingScot]

Not likely the case. Most states do not allow commercial businesses to resell electricity at a profit. This is why you often see fees for reading meters.

It was mentioned above that this particular state can increase the price.

Regardless, the itemized bill should show where any increase has come from, even if it is just a fee to read the meter.

Chris

 

[LenBuchanan]

Most if not all of the marinas in Michigan do not charge for electricity. I can't say for sure, but most of the ones I have been at and have rented slips from do not charge. Maybe it is an East Coast thing. When we brought our boat back to Michigan from New Jersey, we stayed in Haverstraw, NY. We did not pay for electricity being a transient, but there were meters for the seasonal.

 

[STB]

It may have a strong correlation with areas where major air conditioning tends to be used for many months or all of the year.