Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004

"Holger Freese" <mail@freese-privat.de> wrote on 11 Jan 2004:

Yes, they are, but you can make the noun singular by dropping the /-s/
and then think of "running cost" as "overhead", a singular that
includes all operating costs.

For some things, eg a refirgerator, the "running cost" is simply the
cost of the electricity required to run it 24 hours per day. The
difference in running cost between a frost-free fridge and an old-style
one that needs defrosting every few months can be substantial. In the
former case (frost-free fridge) case, "running cost" would be better
than "running costs".

But if you are talking about something that has more than type of cost
associated with it, eg an automobile, then "running costs" is probably
better. There is nothing wrong with saying something like "The cost to
run an older second-hand car is generally much higher than to run a new
economy car", so unless someone feels it's not idiomatic to say "A
disadvantage is its high running cost" about something that has many
different types of costs attached, I don't see a problem with it.