On 2026-06-06 at 14:00 (BRT), I noticed a spike in explicitly cached token usage.
SKU
{
"id": "583D-5DB6-4555",
"description": "Generate_content cached text storage token hours for gemini 3 flash"
}
At first, I thought the issue was on our end because we were running an analysis and actively creating cached content.
The costs started to increase on 2026-06-03 at 13:00 (BRT), which was the exact time our script started.
On 2026-06-06 at 14:00 (BRT), I turned the script off and verified that there were no remaining listed caches (reference)
At that time, I opened a billing issue (#720261..) to see if we could negotiate the charges, as I initially thought this was our mistake and represented normal billed usage.
HOWEVER, SOMETHING IS DEFINITELY WRONG!
Since I turned everything off, the charges have not stopped accumulating. As of my last check on 2026-06-07 at 03:45 BRT, the cost has reached almost R$ 20k.
So, I started to dig deeper into this. I exported my billing data to BigQuery. Please see the hourly breakdown below:
| usage_start_time (BRT) | usage_end_time (BRT) | Cost (BRL) | Usage (M tok·h) | Count | Cumulative (BRL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-03 13:00 | 2026-06-03 14:00 | 11.2573 | 1.9551 | 2 | 55.6892 |
| 2026-06-03 14:00 | 2026-06-03 15:00 | 23.4907 | 4.0798 | 2 | 79.1799 |
| 2026-06-03 15:00 | 2026-06-03 16:00 | 24.0273 | 4.1730 | 2 | 103.2072 |
| 2026-06-03 16:00 | 2026-06-03 17:00 | 23.2630 | 4.0402 | 4 | 126.4702 |
| 2026-06-03 17:00 | 2026-06-03 18:00 | 25.7959 | 4.4801 | 2 | 152.2661 |
| 2026-06-03 18:00 | 2026-06-03 19:00 | 23.5803 | 4.0953 | 2 | 175.8464 |
| 2026-06-03 19:00 | 2026-06-03 20:00 | 21.9892 | 3.8190 | 2 | 197.8355 |
| 2026-06-03 20:00 | 2026-06-03 21:00 | 26.9255 | 4.6763 | 4 | 224.7610 |
| 2026-06-03 21:00 | 2026-06-03 22:00 | 24.7933 | 4.3060 | 2 | 249.5543 |
| 2026-06-03 22:00 | 2026-06-03 23:00 | 27.0847 | 4.7040 | 2 | 276.6391 |
| 2026-06-03 23:00 | 2026-06-04 00:00 | 27.0106 | 4.6911 | 5 | 303.6496 |
| 2026-06-04 00:00 | 2026-06-04 01:00 | 26.8089 | 4.6560 | 3 | 330.4585 |
| 2026-06-04 01:00 | 2026-06-04 02:00 | 24.3714 | 4.2327 | 5 | 354.8299 |
| 2026-06-04 02:00 | 2026-06-04 03:00 | 24.3330 | 4.2260 | 2 | 379.1629 |
| 2026-06-04 03:00 | 2026-06-04 04:00 | 24.9384 | 4.3312 | 3 | 404.1013 |
| 2026-06-04 04:00 | 2026-06-04 05:00 | 27.7965 | 4.8276 | 2 | 431.8977 |
| 2026-06-04 05:00 | 2026-06-04 06:00 | 26.2819 | 4.5645 | 2 | 458.1797 |
| 2026-06-04 06:00 | 2026-06-04 07:00 | 26.4110 | 4.5869 | 2 | 484.5907 |
| 2026-06-04 07:00 | 2026-06-04 08:00 | 26.6055 | 4.6207 | 4 | 511.1961 |
| 2026-06-04 08:00 | 2026-06-04 09:00 | 25.3443 | 4.4017 | 2 | 536.5404 |
| 2026-06-04 09:00 | 2026-06-04 10:00 | 26.3138 | 4.5701 | 4 | 562.8542 |
| 2026-06-04 10:00 | 2026-06-04 11:00 | 25.1505 | 4.3680 | 2 | 588.0047 |
| 2026-06-04 11:00 | 2026-06-04 12:00 | 25.2133 | 4.3789 | 4 | 613.2180 |
| 2026-06-04 12:00 | 2026-06-04 13:00 | 26.7247 | 4.6414 | 2 | 639.9428 |
| 2026-06-04 13:00 | 2026-06-04 14:00 | 24.1219 | 4.1894 | 3 | 664.0647 |
| 2026-06-04 14:00 | 2026-06-04 15:00 | 22.8357 | 3.9660 | 3 | 686.9004 |
| 2026-06-04 15:00 | 2026-06-04 16:00 | 29.5106 | 5.1253 | 2 | 716.4109 |
| 2026-06-04 16:00 | 2026-06-04 17:00 | 27.0296 | 4.6944 | 2 | 743.4406 |
| 2026-06-04 17:00 | 2026-06-04 18:00 | 26.8817 | 4.6687 | 3 | 770.3222 |
| 2026-06-04 18:00 | 2026-06-04 19:00 | 26.4330 | 4.5908 | 3 | 796.7552 |
| 2026-06-04 19:00 | 2026-06-04 20:00 | 26.4825 | 4.5994 | 3 | 823.2377 |
| 2026-06-04 20:00 | 2026-06-04 21:00 | 27.7752 | 4.8239 | 4 | 851.0128 |
| 2026-06-04 21:00 | 2026-06-04 22:00 | 27.1360 | 4.7129 | 4 | 878.1488 |
| 2026-06-04 22:00 | 2026-06-04 23:00 | 26.8387 | 4.6612 | 2 | 904.9875 |
| 2026-06-04 23:00 | 2026-06-05 00:00 | 26.9636 | 4.6829 | 3 | 931.9511 |
| 2026-06-05 00:00 | 2026-06-05 01:00 | 28.1955 | 4.8969 | 1 | 960.1466 |
| 2026-06-05 01:00 | 2026-06-05 02:00 | 28.4486 | 4.9408 | 1 | 988.5953 |
| 2026-06-05 02:00 | 2026-06-05 03:00 | 26.9662 | 4.6834 | 2 | 1,015.5615 |
| 2026-06-05 03:00 | 2026-06-05 04:00 | 65.4293 | 11.3635 | 1 | 1,080.9908 |
| 2026-06-05 04:00 | 2026-06-05 05:00 | 27.9708 | 4.8578 | 2 | 1,108.9616 |
| 2026-06-05 05:00 | 2026-06-05 06:00 | 26.9316 | 4.6774 | 2 | 1,135.8932 |
| 2026-06-05 06:00 | 2026-06-05 07:00 | 26.8524 | 4.6636 | 2 | 1,162.7456 |
| 2026-06-05 07:00 | 2026-06-05 08:00 | 26.9929 | 4.6880 | 3 | 1,189.7385 |
| 2026-06-05 08:00 | 2026-06-05 09:00 | 26.8580 | 4.6646 | 3 | 1,216.5965 |
| 2026-06-05 09:00 | 2026-06-05 10:00 | 26.7391 | 4.6439 | 3 | 1,243.3356 |
| 2026-06-05 10:00 | 2026-06-05 11:00 | 27.0973 | 4.7061 | 3 | 1,270.4328 |
| 2026-06-05 11:00 | 2026-06-05 12:00 | 26.9872 | 4.6870 | 2 | 1,297.4200 |
| 2026-06-05 12:00 | 2026-06-05 13:00 | 26.8647 | 4.6657 | 3 | 1,324.2847 |
| 2026-06-05 13:00 | 2026-06-05 14:00 | 26.8342 | 4.6604 | 1 | 1,351.1189 |
| 2026-06-05 14:00 | 2026-06-05 15:00 | 29.1381 | 5.0606 | 3 | 1,380.2570 |
| 2026-06-05 15:00 | 2026-06-05 16:00 | 86.8009 | 15.0752 | 2 | 1,467.0579 |
| 2026-06-05 16:00 | 2026-06-05 17:00 | 145.7507 | 25.3133 | 4 | 1,612.8086 |
| 2026-06-05 17:00 | 2026-06-05 18:00 | 148.4111 | 25.7754 | 2 | 1,761.2198 |
| 2026-06-05 18:00 | 2026-06-05 19:00 | 149.3033 | 25.9303 | 1 | 1,910.5230 |
| 2026-06-05 19:00 | 2026-06-05 20:00 | 156.6750 | 27.2106 | 3 | 2,067.1980 |
| 2026-06-05 20:00 | 2026-06-05 21:00 | 156.8820 | 27.2466 | 1 | 2,224.0800 |
| 2026-06-05 21:00 | 2026-06-05 22:00 | 174.8669 | 30.3701 | 3 | 2,398.9469 |
| 2026-06-05 22:00 | 2026-06-05 23:00 | 207.9905 | 36.1229 | 2 | 2,606.9374 |
| 2026-06-05 23:00 | 2026-06-06 00:00 | 248.1091 | 43.0905 | 4 | 2,855.0465 |
| 2026-06-06 00:00 | 2026-06-06 01:00 | 298.8483 | 51.9027 | 2 | 3,153.8949 |
| 2026-06-06 01:00 | 2026-06-06 02:00 | 369.8446 | 64.2330 | 3 | 3,523.7395 |
| 2026-06-06 02:00 | 2026-06-06 03:00 | 410.3671 | 71.2707 | 1 | 3,934.1065 |
| 2026-06-06 03:00 | 2026-06-06 04:00 | 460.9613 | 80.0577 | 2 | 4,395.0678 |
| 2026-06-06 04:00 | 2026-06-06 05:00 | 458.3854 | 79.6103 | 1 | 4,853.4532 |
| 2026-06-06 05:00 | 2026-06-06 06:00 | 511.5525 | 88.8442 | 3 | 5,365.0057 |
| 2026-06-06 06:00 | 2026-06-06 07:00 | 562.9647 | 97.7732 | 3 | 5,927.9704 |
| 2026-06-06 07:00 | 2026-06-06 08:00 | 644.5889 | 111.9493 | 4 | 6,572.5593 |
| 2026-06-06 08:00 | 2026-06-06 09:00 | 714.5027 | 124.0916 | 4 | 7,287.0620 |
| 2026-06-06 09:00 | 2026-06-06 10:00 | 793.6961 | 137.8456 | 2 | 8,080.7581 |
| 2026-06-06 10:00 | 2026-06-06 11:00 | 875.1844 | 151.9981 | 2 | 8,955.9424 |
| 2026-06-06 11:00 | 2026-06-06 12:00 | 956.7866 | 166.1704 | 2 | 9,912.7291 |
| 2026-06-06 12:00 | 2026-06-06 13:00 | 1,037.6763 | 180.2190 | 4 | 10,950.4053 |
| 2026-06-06 13:00 | 2026-06-06 14:00 | 1,118.4296 | 194.2439 | 2 | 12,068.8350 |
| 2026-06-06 14:00 | 2026-06-06 15:00 | 1,155.6384 | 200.7061 | 4 | 13,224.4733 |
| 2026-06-06 15:00 | 2026-06-06 16:00 | 1,155.6846 | 200.7142 | 3 | 14,380.1579 |
| 2026-06-06 16:00 | 2026-06-06 17:00 | 1,155.6846 | 200.7142 | 1 | 15,535.8425 |
| 2026-06-06 17:00 | 2026-06-06 18:00 | 1,155.6846 | 200.7142 | 2 | 16,691.5270 |
| 2026-06-06 18:00 | 2026-06-06 19:00 | 1,155.6846 | 200.7142 | 1 | 17,847.2116 |
| TOTAL | 17,847.2116 | 3,099.6219 | 341 |
As the data shows, these are explicitly caching costs. I strongly suspect that the cache is not being cleared correctly on the backend, even though my scripts are turned off and the cache registry shows as empty!
In a desperate attempt to stop these accumulating charges, I have now completely disabled the Gemini API Service in my Google Cloud Project.
Please investigate this as a matter of urgency.