What Is a Marina Power Pedestal?

A power pedestal is the dockside unit at a slip that delivers electricity, and usually water, to a boat. If you have walked a marina dock and seen the waist-high posts with power outlets, a water spigot, and sometimes a light on top, those are power pedestals. They are how a boat plugs into shore power instead of running its engine or generator, and for the marina they are also a metering and billing point.

This guide explains what a power pedestal does, the common power ratings you will see, and why pedestals matter to a marina's bottom line as much as to a boater's comfort.

#What a power pedestal delivers

At its core, a pedestal connects a boat to shore power, the electricity that lets a boat run its systems, air conditioning, refrigeration, and battery chargers without burning fuel. If you are new to the concept, our explainer on what shore power is covers the basics. Beyond electricity, most pedestals include a freshwater tap, a circuit breaker for each outlet, and often a courtesy light, so the pedestal is the boater's utility connection for the whole stay.

#Amperage ratings: 30A, 50A, and beyond

Pedestals are rated by the electrical service they provide. The two most common ratings for recreational boats are 30 amp and 50 amp. Smaller boats typically use a single 30 amp connection, while larger boats with more systems need 50 amp service, sometimes more than one. Large yachts may require higher-amperage or three-phase connections. A marina has to match the pedestal to the boats in each part of the dock, which is part of planning slip assignments.

• 30 amp: typical for smaller cruisers and many sailboats.
• 50 amp: common for larger powerboats and yachts with more onboard systems.
• Higher service: large yachts may need multiple 50 amp connections or three-phase power.
• Water and extras: most pedestals also carry a freshwater tap and a breaker per outlet.

#Metering and billing the power

Here is where pedestals matter to the marina, not just the boater. Electricity costs money, and a boat running air conditioning all summer uses a meaningful amount of it. A pedestal with a meter lets the marina charge each boater for the power they actually consumed, instead of folding an average into the slip fee and eating the difference when usage runs high. The case for this is the whole subject of our guide to metered electricity billing. Capturing pedestal power as billable usage is one of the cleaner ways a marina protects its margin.

#Where Marine OS fits

Marine OS does not manufacture pedestals, but it handles the billing side: recording metered electricity usage and charging it back to the boater on their invoice, alongside dockage and other fees. If your pedestals are metered, the software turns those readings into revenue rather than leaving them on a clipboard. Our metered electricity billing guide covers how this works in practice.

#Frequently asked questions

For more, see what shore power is and metered electricity billing.