In 2013, several data server companies took a dramatic decision to begin using energy surcharges to recapture rising energy costs. However, customers are critical of how the energy surcharges are being allocated.
Specifically, the data server companies allocate costs based on bandwidth available to customers. Customers however prefer allocations to be based on actual usage metrics such as data-bytes transferred or data-stored in servers.
The US Department of Energy has hired your team to provide a recommendation on the allocation. How would you allocate and provide an illustrative example.