Sorry, but due to the high cost of energy we will shutdown your server on April 4th

Roughly a year ago I started renting a 18Tb Server with 64Gb of Ram from a “reputable” french hosting provider. The price: 53.99€ a month (without taxes).

It was a good deal, but it did not last!

France used to be one of the countries with the cheapest electricity prices, but this was to change in late 2021 when the electricity prices rose by 400% within a few months.

In late 2021 I received this e-mail from the provider:

Energy Cost Increases

As you know, energy costs have skyrocketed in recent years. In less than a year, the price of electricity on the markets has multiplied by five, and this obviously has a significant impact on our business.

[...]

As of January 1, 2022, all servers will see their monthly price increase by €1 per month. This increase will be applied to current and future benefits.

Ok, 1€ more that's not too much, but apparently this was not enough.

A few weeks later I received an E-Mail telling me that my server was being “definitively and irreversibly decommissioned” on April 4th.

I was surprised, the server hardware is everything but obsolete. I wanted to know what was going on.

I checked their store front and was surprised to see that the server I am renting is still being offered for sale under the same designation but for 81.99€. An increase of 51% over the price I was paying.

Seeing that I was being ripped off I wrote to the support asking them what was going on and if they were reselling my server to another customer for the higher price. This was their response:

Indeed, your server xxx-xxxx is affected by the end of life situation.

The offer itself is still available for ordering on our store.

There is absolutely no attempt such as the one you describe.

The fact is prices have increased for multiple reasons, which include for instance the rise in energy pricing.

[...]

The reason for the shutdown is server's end of life.

It is very unfortunate that you ordered the server barely a year ago.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused by the situation.

Conclusion

The provider is kicking me out of the contract, so they can sell it to some one else for 50% higher price (They are denying it but it is absolutely obvious). That's inflation and greedy corps at their best.