A Florida campground with a $70,000 annual electricity bill was only recovering $17,500 from guests. Even after accounting for 15% common area usage, that left $44,625 in unrecovered costs — absorbed entirely by the park operator.
This is not unusual. It is the predictable outcome of operating an RV park without submetering.
Whether you run a 50-site seasonal park or a 500-site year-round destination, electricity is one of your largest controllable expenses. Submetering is the mechanism that lets you recover those costs fairly, reduce overall consumption, and stay compliant with increasingly complex regulations. Here is how to do it right.
Most RV parks fall into one of two billing models for electricity: include it in the nightly or monthly rate, or charge a flat daily surcharge (typically $10-$20 per day, according to industry sources). Both approaches create the same problem — there is no connection between what a guest consumes and what they pay.
A Class A motorhome with two rooftop air conditioning units running on a 50-amp hookup can easily consume 60-80 kWh per day in summer. A small travel trailer on a 30-amp connection might use 15-20 kWh. Under a flat-rate model, both guests pay the same amount. The travel trailer owner subsidizes the motorhome owner. Neither has any incentive to conserve.
At an average utility rate of $0.13 per kWh, that 80 kWh per day costs the park $10.40 — before accounting for demand charges, which can add 30-50% to commercial electricity bills. A $15 daily flat fee barely covers the direct cost for the heaviest users, while generating minimal revenue from lighter users who would have been easy to serve.
When electricity is bundled into rent, guests treat it as unlimited. Air conditioners run with windows open. Portable heaters supplement HVAC. Electric vehicles charge overnight on 50-amp pedestals. Industry data from Think Utility Services shows that installing submeters reduces consumption by 20-40%, simply because guests become aware of — and responsible for — their usage.
That is not a marginal improvement. For a park spending $70,000 annually on electricity, a 25% reduction saves $17,500 per year — before any billing revenue recovery.
RV park submetering operates in a specific legal framework that varies by state. Getting this wrong exposes you to regulatory action and guest disputes. Here are the key rules.
In most states, RV parks and campgrounds are classified as "master-metered" properties — the utility bills the park on one meter, and the park allocates costs to individual sites. Under this structure, state Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) generally prohibit the resale of electricity for profit. You can pass through the cost of electricity. You cannot mark it up.
What this means in practice: the per-kWh rate you charge guests cannot exceed the blended rate (energy + delivery + taxes) that the utility charges you. Florida, Alabama, Texas, Maine, and most other states enforce some version of this rule. Maine's statute (Title 35-A, §313) is explicit — the charge to a campground guest "may not exceed the kilowatt usage of the submeter user multiplied by the combined rate per kilowatt hour that the campground owner or operator is charged."
If you are billing tenants based on metered usage, your meters must meet accuracy standards. NIST Handbook 44, published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, sets specifications and tolerances for commercial measuring devices — including electric submeters used for billing purposes.
Section 3.41 of the 2025 edition specifically covers electricity submetering. Key requirements include:
Not all submeters are created equal. Revenue-grade meters that meet ANSI C12.20 standards (±0.5% accuracy) satisfy Handbook 44 requirements. Consumer-grade "energy monitors" typically do not meet these standards and should not be used for tenant billing.
While the no-profit rule is widespread, the details vary significantly:
Before implementing submetering, consult your state's PUC regulations and consider legal review. The National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) and your state campground association are practical starting points for guidance.
Not every park needs fully metered billing. Your size, guest mix, and operational capacity determine which model fits best.
How it works: Electricity is included in the nightly or monthly site rate. No separate metering or billing.
Best for: Short-stay parks with low-amperage sites (30-amp only) and mild climates where consumption is predictable.
Risk: Heavy users subsidized by light users. No conservation incentive. Owner absorbs all cost increases from the utility.
How it works: A fixed electricity fee ($10-$20/day or $100-$300/month) is added to the site rate.
Best for: Parks transitioning away from all-inclusive pricing but not yet ready to invest in metering infrastructure.
Risk: Still no connection between consumption and cost. Heavy users remain subsidized. Surcharge must be calibrated to average usage, which means over-collecting from light users and under-collecting from heavy ones.
How it works: Each site has a submeter. Guests are billed for actual kWh consumed at the utility's blended rate.
Best for: Parks with extended-stay guests, 50-amp service, or high seasonal variation in consumption. This is the industry best practice for cost recovery and fairness.
Advantage: Complete cost recovery. Conservation incentive (20-40% consumption reduction is typical). Eliminates cross-subsidization between sites. Transparent billing reduces disputes.
How it works: The site rate includes a base electricity allowance (for example, $1.67/day or roughly 12-13 kWh at typical rates). Usage above the allowance is billed at the metered rate.
Best for: Parks that want to advertise competitive site rates while still recovering costs from heavy users. Handles the transition period well — guests feel they are getting something included while still being accountable for excess consumption.
Here is a realistic ROI calculation for a 100-site RV park considering submetering deployment.
Current state:
Submetering investment:
Post-submetering results (conservative estimates):
Payback period: 5-8 months.
Even on the conservative end, submetering typically pays for itself within the first year. Parks with higher electricity costs or more 50-amp extended-stay sites see even faster returns.
Step 1: Audit your current electrical infrastructure. Walk your pedestals. Document amperage ratings (30A vs 50A) per site, pedestal condition, and wiring age. Identify sites where the existing pedestal must be replaced versus sites where a submeter can be added to existing equipment.
Step 2: Choose your metering technology. The three main options are:
Step 3: Integrate with your property management system. Most modern campground management platforms (Campspot, CampLife, RMS, Newbook, Firefly, and others) support utility billing integrations. Automated meter-to-bill workflows reduce staff overhead and eliminate manual calculation errors.
Step 4: Develop your billing policy. Draft a clear electricity billing policy that covers:
Step 5: Communicate with guests. Transparency prevents disputes. Post your electricity policy on your website, include it in reservation confirmations, and display rates at check-in. Most guests understand and accept usage-based billing — it is the same model they experience at home.
Step 6: Launch and monitor. Start with a pilot on a section of the park if possible. Verify meter accuracy against your main utility meter. Resolve any integration issues before expanding park-wide.
A common objection to submetering is that it creates billing complexity for nightly or weekend guests. For stays under 7 days, some parks continue to include electricity in the nightly rate and only meter extended-stay guests. Others use smart metering platforms that automatically calculate usage between check-in and check-out timestamps, generating an accurate per-stay bill regardless of stay length.
The latter approach is increasingly viable as metering technology improves. It addresses what has been called a "critical gap" in the industry — short-stay guests typically are not billed for actual energy use, but they can account for significant consumption during peak seasons when air conditioning demand is highest.
Submetering is not about squeezing more revenue from guests. It is about aligning costs with consumption so that every site pays for what it uses — no more, no less. The travel trailer owner stops subsidizing the motorhome owner. The park operator stops absorbing $45,000 in unrecovered electricity costs. And total consumption drops 20-40% because guests finally have a reason to conserve.
That is a better deal for everyone involved.
Ready to explore submetering for your RV park? Learn how Vutility's HotDrop and VoltDrop sensors deliver revenue-grade, real-time energy data with minutes-per-site installation and direct integration with leading property management systems.
