alt Hacker NewsI understand this is snark, but if you think about it, this is already implemented in electrical infrastructure. If I use too much power, the circuit breaker trips to protect me and protect the electrical grid. OP is about a billing breaker, but the parallels should be obvious.
If the CEO of the electric company didn't mandate circuit breakers, he should go to jail.
The breaker in this analogy is equivalent to rate quota limits, it limits peak throughput.
You can rack up an outrageous monthly electricity bill without tripping a breaker.