A method determines an electrical characteristic at a spinning machine or winder, wherein the electrical characteristic is one or both of electrical power and electrical energy consumption. The spinning machine or winder includes a plurality of adjacently arranged workstations that each include an electrical working element. A total electrical characteristic for the spinning machine or winder is measured with a central measuring unit. The workstations are subdivided into at least two production groups that operated independently of one another. A distribution key is defined and used to calculate the electrical characteristic specific to each of the production groups by allocating the total electrical characteristic to the production groups with the distribution key. The specific production group electrical characteristics are displayed at the spinning machine or winder and transmitted to a computer that is at a higher control level than the spinning machine or winder.