---
title: "Minimum bill: what it means · The AI Compute Race · DRYBURGH"
source: https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/minimum-bill
description: "Minimum bill: A charge payable whether or not the power is used."
---

# Minimum bill

What does “Minimum bill” mean?

Minimum billA charge payable whether or not the power is used. At Hyperion it is designed to cover the three gas plants’ full cost, including overruns before they enter service and any power bought in to bridge the gap if they are late. *Chapter 6.*

From *The AI Compute Race*. [Read the book](https://dryburgh.com/vol1#buy)

Defined in [Chapter 6 — Firm, Around-the-Clock](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes/chapter-6).

## Where the book uses it

- [Chapter 6 — Firm, Around-the-Clock](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes/chapter-6)Where the electricity comes from: grid queues, transformers, turbines and the firm power a datacenter needs every hour of the year, on calendars the buildout does not control.

## Related terms

- [Hyperion](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/hyperion)
- [Bridge power](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/bridge-power)
- [Capital recovery](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/capital-recovery)
- [Early-termination fee](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/early-termination-fee)
- [Backstop](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/backstop)
- [Batch Zero](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/batch-zero)
- [Behind the meter](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/behind-the-meter)
- [Beignet](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/beignet)
- [Capacity auction](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/capacity-auction)
- [Combined-cycle](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/combined-cycle)
- [Curtailment](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/curtailment)
- [Demand response](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/demand-response)

From the glossary of The AI Compute Race.

- [Campuses](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/ledger)
- [Tests](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/tests)
- [Scorecard](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/scorecard)
- [Data](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/data/releases)
- [Chapter by chapter](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/companion)
- [The record at a glance](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/observatory)
- [The machine](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/machine)
- [One campus, four futures](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/hyperion)
- [Glossary](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary)
- [People](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/people)
- [Sources](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/sources)
- [Notes](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes)
- [Where the book was wrong](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/corrections)
- [Where its sources were wrong](https://dryburgh.com/corrections?book=vol1)
- [The Paper](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/paper)
- [Consent](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/consent)
- [Who builds and pays](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/parties)

*The AI Compute Race: Five Races, One Machine* is a book by Lee S. Dryburgh, the first volume of THE COMPUTE ECONOMY, published by Dryburgh, an imprint of Contestra OÜ, Tallinn, Estonia; its record closes on 8 November 2026.

[About the book](https://dryburgh.com/vol1)[Tell me when it is out](https://dryburgh.com/vol1#notify)