Норматив потребления проверил поставщик услуг.

The subject is поставщик услуг.

The key clue is the form поставщик:

• поставщик is nominative singular
• if it were a direct object, it would have to be поставщика, because it is an animate masculine noun

So Russian grammar tells you that поставщик услуг is the doer of the action.

Meanwhile норматив is the thing being checked. Its form looks the same as nominative, but for inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative singular is often identical to the nominative.

So the sentence means:

• the service provider checked the consumption norm/standard

Because норматив is an inanimate masculine singular noun.

For that type of noun:

• nominative singular = норматив
• accusative singular = норматив

So even though it is the direct object, the form stays the same.

This is very common in Russian:

• Я вижу стол — стол is an object, but it looks like nominative
• Он проверил норматив — same pattern

By contrast, animate masculine nouns usually change in the accusative:

• Я вижу студента
• проверил поставщика would mean checked the supplier

Because норматив потребления is a noun + noun construction, where the second noun describes what kind of norm it is.

So:

• норматив = norm, standard, quota
• потребления = of consumption / of use

This is a very common Russian pattern. English often uses:

• of
• or a noun used like an adjective

Examples:

• центр города = city center / center of the city
• правила движения = traffic rules / rules of movement
• норматив потребления = consumption norm / usage standard

So потребления is genitive because it depends on норматив.

Because поставщик услуг means provider/supplier of services.

Again, this is the same noun + genitive pattern:

• поставщик = supplier / provider
• услуг = of services

Here услуг is the genitive plural of услуга.

This kind of phrase is extremely common in Russian official and business language:

• поставщик товаров = supplier of goods
• поставщик оборудования = supplier of equipment
• поставщик услуг = service provider

So услуг is not the object of the verb. It is part of the subject phrase поставщик услуг.

It absolutely can be.

That version is the more neutral word order for many learners:

• Поставщик услуг проверил норматив потребления.

The original sentence puts the object first:

• Норматив потребления проверил поставщик услуг.

This kind of word order is used to shift emphasis or topic. It can suggest something like:

• As for the consumption norm, it was the service provider who checked it
• or it can simply foreground норматив потребления

Russian word order is much more flexible than English word order. English relies heavily on position to show who does what; Russian relies more on case endings.

Проверил is perfective, so it presents the action as completed.

That makes sense if the sentence reports a finished event:

• The service provider checked it
• one completed check

If you used проверял, that would be imperfective, which can suggest:

• process
• repetition
• background action
• an attempt or ongoing checking, depending on context

Compare:

• проверил = checked, completed the check
• проверял = was checking / checked repeatedly / used to check

With no extra context, проверил is the natural choice for a single finished action.

That is the past tense masculine singular form.

Russian past tense agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• проверил — masculine singular
• проверила — feminine singular
• проверило — neuter singular
• проверили — plural

Since the subject is поставщик, which is masculine singular, the verb is проверил.

So this part of the sentence matches the subject grammatically.

Yes, it sounds fairly official, bureaucratic, or technical.

That is mainly because of the vocabulary:

• норматив is a formal word
• поставщик услуг is a standard official/business phrase

In everyday speech, people might use simpler wording depending on the exact situation. But in administrative, коммунальные, legal, or business contexts, this kind of sentence is completely normal.

So a learner should recognize that the grammar is ordinary Russian, but the style is somewhat formal.

Yes, because English and Russian organize information differently.

A straightforward translation is:

• The service provider checked the consumption standard.

But because the Russian sentence puts норматив потребления first, English might sometimes reflect that emphasis:

• It was the consumption standard that the service provider checked.
• The consumption standard was checked by the service provider.

The exact best translation depends on context. Grammatically, though, the Russian sentence still has:

• object first
• verb second
• subject last

So the main English translation stays the same, with some flexibility in emphasis.