shore power cost

I'm wondering how many Harbors charge an extra fee if you keep your boat plugged into shore power while no one is aboard.

If people could post what their Harbor's practice is regarding shore power use that would be very helpful.

Thanks, Mark

I'm in a nieghborhood marina. It's pretty low key and not run for profit. We don't pay any additional charges for electric or water. The only restriction on electric is space heaters.

It's been a number of years since I stayed in a marina (as opposed to anchoring out), but in the 90's none of the state marinas around Michigan charged extra for power. In Ontario, however, it was usually an extra $3 or so to be hooked up to "hydro" (their term for electric service) per day.

No extra charge in Marina del Rey


john

Our club is a non-profit "sweat equity" organization. Each dock box has a meter on it and you are charged for the electricity you use at the going rate. Some people leave the AC, fridge, etc. on all summer but thats mostly powerboaters..... RT

$10/month + metered usage. Most of the time usage is less than hookup cost.

Thanks for the posts so far.

Santa Cruz Harbor $38 extra per month.

Each slip has a meter and we are only charged what we use. Water is free. I don't live aboard so I rarely have any electrical fees but I keep my three stage "Gust Charger" on all the time. I also use AC for lights and power tools at times. In all honesty I cant remember seeing any electrical charges for years now. I just saw a guy take meter readings last weekend though.

San Pedro, LA Harbor

In Dana Point there is no additional charge if you are connected to electrical power, even if you are not on board. I leave "the plug" in when I am away.

Sam

I dock near Detroit in St. Clair Shores. I do not know of any marinas around me that charge for plugging in. I sometimes wonder about electric usage when I pass by a boat that is constantly pumping water through a heat exchanger to run an a/c system. Myself, I just keep my batteries topped off when I plug in, even though I could get by without it.

Paul

Not at Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo. Left it plugged in all summer, although I heard that many (power) boats rarely left their slips which did drive up energy use. I guess we'll have to wait and see when we get next years slip prices:unsure:!

I will modify my comment that marinas in Michigan don't charge for power to note that it is not uncommon for them to install a power meter over the winter if you choose to winter in the water. Not much of a deal though, since hardly anyone winters in the water there.

We are a private yacht club and not a "public moorage" but have the same sorts of overhead to pay. Several years ago we did a breakout of costs per headwalk for power, because metering each 30-boat walk is as close as we can come to narrowing down boat power usage. We have about 30 boats per walk, and five headwalks.

To set the Scene: Here in Portland, Oregon, all boats normally winter in their slips, and long winter weeks of weather with regular precip and temps in the 30's to 40's are typical. About once per winter we get a two or three week period with continuous temps at about 20, full time.

Also, our headwalks are not uniform in power draw, as they are arranged by different sizes of boats. Bigger boats tend to use more power, we have found, historically. We harangue members about using any heater that would keep the interior above the 35 degree "freeze proof" point, but will always have a few that obstinately crank up their thermostat. (big sigh.)

FWIW, we have considered individual meters, but the meter and install cost is very high, and then we would need someone to read 'em all, and our all-volunteer club is often stretched thin as it is.

Our cost study allowed us to assign a rate-per-boat for each headwalk. It is averaged out for year-round billing, and we have the power budget figured out so that the member boats' power usage is not subsidized by the club, i.e. is revenue neutral.
Out of a total of $445. quarterly billig, my electricity "use" is $13.

If that all seems rather cheap... note that club work hours are required... and that I put in over 100 per year...

On the plus side, I get to operate our Dredge!

Loren

Thanks again, just to let you know what I am up to; as some of you know I have repowered with an electric inboard unit and to keep my batteries charged and healthy I leave my charger plugged in when in the slip. The Harbor charges $38 per month if you leave your boat plugged in while you are not present. I'm using maybe $4 worth of electricity per month (probably less). I hate to think my Harbor isn't supportive of Green Technologies.

Ouch. I don't burn $38 in fuel in half a season never mind a month. Doubtfull you will get anywhere with them but its worth trying. RT

Public marina in Seattle

We get the first $5 of electrical free. Each slip is metered and we pay actual usage beyond the $5, which can be a lot to run a heater and battery charger in the winter months - $10 to $35 a month if I recall correctly. We never run over the $5 in the warm months, but a heater is essential in the winter up here. Water is not a charged item.