ya there is a nominal fee, but i didn't have to write any script files for my graphics cards. I know there is a more refined way to mine as far as watt per hash ratios and stuff. but simply put. my hydro bill only went up by about $40 a month. I'm a Canadian on the west coast and our power is dirt cheap. My only problem is that I don't have enough circuits in my house to build as many miners as I want to. the new rig will be all gtx 970's so they will sip power compared to the 290's i have now. I call it dirty mining.. compared to say a low powered asic device.