Disclosure: I represent ForMiners / CryptoTech OÜ, which works with ASIC equipment and hosting. This is a worked example, not a hosting offer or a customer invoice. Prepared with AI assistance.
A power bill can be arithmetically correct and still be based on a different assumption from your budget. Before comparing rates, check what quantity the provider is charging for.
Start with a deliberately simple example: equipment drawing a constant 3 kW for 30 days.
3 kW × 24 hours × 30 days = 2,160 kWh.
At an illustrative €0.08/kWh, the energy line would be €172.80 before taxes and other charges. These are invented example inputs, not our tariff.
Now suppose the equipment is off for 48 hours. Under the same constant-load assumption, its energy use becomes 3 × 672 = 2,016 kWh, or €161.28 at that example rate. The difference is €11.52. A reserved-capacity or minimum monthly charge might not change at all. That depends on the agreement; downtime does not automatically mean every line on the bill falls.
For an actual invoice, I would reconcile three things:
- The billing period and the meter readings, including the units and timestamps.
- What the meter includes: the equipment alone, a shared circuit, or other allocated consumption.
- Fixed charges, minimum commitments, remote-hands work and any separate cooling allocation.
Do not apply a cooling multiplier to a rate that already includes cooling unless the contract explicitly calls for both. Likewise, a 3 kW equipment rating is a planning input, not proof that 2,160 kWh was consumed.
Ask for one sample invoice before signing. It is easier to resolve a difference in billing assumptions on that page than after equipment has been shipped.
For operators here: which billing detail most often needs explaining to a new colocation customer?
