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Interpreting this utility demand charge

Datacenter Talk Locked by cleardmitri 24 replies 3.1K views
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marcus_qc

Member

#11

frankfurt_ops said:
Amsterdam is on the older Leaseweb master terms

MARCUS HERE!!! U RITE BUT THE REAL KICKER IS THEY PRORATE THE PEAK ACROSS THE FULL CONTRACT TERM IF U TERMINATE EARLY!!! SEEN IT!!! THEY CHARGED MY CLIENT FOR 14 MONTHS OF PEAK DEMAND AFTER HE GAVE NOTICE!!! OVHCLOUD DID SAME IN BEAUHARNOIS 2021!!!

42U and still growing
marchhopper

Member

#12

marcus_qc said:
Prorate the peak across the full contract term

That's not proration, that's liquidated damages dressed up as billing. Different thing. OVHcloud Beauharnois had a specific early-exit clause that referenced forecast demand, not measured. I was in that facility 2019-2022. Not comparable.

Cleardmitri: what does your bill actually say for the line item description? "Demand charge" or "capacity charge" or "ratchet adjustment"? The words matter.

cleardmitri

Moderator OP

Moderator

#13

marchhopper said:
What does your bill actually say

"Demand Charge - Mar 14 Interval 14:15-14:30 - 847 kW @ EUR 12.40/kW" Then below that "Ratchet Adjustment - Feb Baseline 680 kW @ EUR 12.40/kW". So two line items. The 847 is the spike. The 680 is... what, 80% of my historical?

No logs, no proof. I have logs.
ben20

Member

4 #14

cleardmitri said:
"Ratchet Adjustment - Feb Baseline 680 kW @ EUR 12.40/kW"

That is not 80% of historical. That is your actual February peak. They are charging you March peak and February baseline? That is double-dipping. Check if the 680 is a credit or a debit. The sign matters.

cleardmitri

Moderator OP

Moderator

#15

Both are positive charges. No credit. Total demand charges: EUR 10,502.80 for March. February was EUR 2,447.20. Same usage kWh.

No logs, no proof. I have logs.
srelet

Member

5 #16

cleardmitri said:
Both are positive charges

That's broken. Either the 680 should be a credit against the 847, or they should charge the 847 alone. Charging both is an error. I have seen this exact bug in submetering software when a ratchet threshold changes mid-month. The system applies the new ratchet without zeroing the old baseline.

File a ticket. Ask for line-item reconciliation. CC whoever your account manager is. Do not pay until they explain why both are positive.

frankfurt_ops

Member

#17

srelet said:
That's broken

Not necessarily. Leaseweb AMS has a split-rate demand structure on some legacy contracts. Base capacity (your committed) at one rate, overage demand (the spike) at another. But here both are at EUR 12.40/kW, so that does not fit.

More likely: the 680 is the ratchet from prior months being recaptured because March's spike reset the baseline. They are charging you the difference between old ratchet and new ratchet, but displaying it as a separate positive line instead of netting it.

Still worth disputing. Presentation matters for VAT.

JO

Member

#18

frankfurt_ops said:
Presentation matters for VAT

This. In Spain we had similar with Interxion. They showed a "ratchet true-up" as positive line, our accountant rejected it, they had to reissue. Took six weeks. Start the clock now if you need clean books for Q1.

HA

Member

#19

I am also with Leaseweb AMS, different hall. My March bill has no demand charge at all, just kWh. I am on all-in rate though, maybe that is why. Cleardmitri you are direct utility?

cleardmitri

Moderator OP

Moderator

4 #20

HasanIce said:
You are direct utility?

Yes. Colo rent to Leaseweb, cross-connects through Contabo, utility direct with Hetzner Energy. Three invoices. The utility one is the problem.

No logs, no proof. I have logs.

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