The leak nobody sees on the rent roll
A monthly guest pays the same rent in April and January. Their heat pump doesn't run the same. If power is included, the coldest and hottest months are when your best long-term guests cost you the most. It doesn't show up as a line on the P&L. It shows up as a utility bill that keeps climbing while revenue stays flat.
A buyer sees it right away. Utilities are one of the two biggest expense lines in an RV park, and an underwriter will compare yours to the benchmark. See where your utilities stand.
How the calculator works
- What you absorb now: sites × months occupied × (kWh per site × your cost per kWh − any flat electric fee you already collect).
- After metering: guests pay for their own kWh at your cost. No markup, because in at least some states, including Florida, a markup isn't allowed.
- New costs: software or billing fees per meter, and any rent reduction you offer to make the switch easier.
- Value: NOI added divided by the cap rate. At 9%, every $1,000 of NOI is about $11,100 of park value.
Getting your inputs right
Cost per kWh: take your electric bill's total dollars and divide by total kWh. That catches demand charges and fees that the posted rate leaves out.
kWh per site: the best number comes from a test meter on two or three monthly sites for a full month. Do it in winter or mid-summer, when usage peaks. Using an annual average will understate the problem in the months that hurt most.
Meter cost: get a real quote that includes the electrician. Pedestal condition matters. Old pedestals may need replacing anyway, which changes the math.
Check the rules first
Whether and how you can bill guests for electricity is set by your state utility commission and your utility's tariff. Florida's rule caps what an owner collects at the actual cost of electricity, and late fees and the owner's own billing costs don't count as cost. We haven't confirmed the rules for North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia or Tennessee. Call your utility and ask for its sub-metering policy before you send the first bill.
Sub-metering is one of the projects we fund in a Value-Add Partnership: our capital, our contractor, you keep the park.
Questions owners ask
Can an RV park charge guests for electricity?
Usually yes for long-term sites, but the rules are set by each state's utility commission and your utility's tariff. Florida's rule, for example, generally requires individual utility meters at RV parks outside overnight areas; where master metering is allowed, it lets the owner apportion or sub-meter costs but caps what you collect at your actual cost of electricity, with no markup and no billing fees. Check your state's rule and your utility before you bill anyone.
Can I mark up the electricity I resell?
Assume no. In Florida it's explicitly capped at your actual cost. That's why this calculator bills guests at your cost. The money comes from no longer paying for their usage, not from profit on power.
How do I find kWh per site if I don't have meters yet?
Two ways. Put a meter on two or three monthly sites for a month and average them. Or take a month when the park was mostly monthly guests, divide the kWh on your bill by the number of occupied sites, and treat it as a rough ceiling since it includes your bathhouse and office.
Should I meter nightly sites too?
Usually not. Nightly guests expect power in the rate, and billing a two-night stay for kWh costs more in hassle than it recovers. Metering pays on sites where the same guest stays for weeks or months.
Will monthly guests leave if I start billing electric?
Some may push back, especially in winter. One option is a small rent reduction when metering starts so the guest's total stays close to what it was for average use. Enter that concession and the calculator shows whether it still pays.
Keep going
- Monthly vs Nightly RV Site Calculator
- RV park technology we set up
- Three levers that raise NOI
- RV Park Valuation Calculator
Sources: Fla. Admin. Code R. 25-6.049 (sub-metering allowed where individual metering isn't required; recovery capped at actual cost). Wild Energy St. Pete RV Park case study ($150 per meter, vendor figure). Newmark V&A North American Market Survey, 1Q 2026 (cap rates). Estimates only, not legal advice.