Dutch power firm may ask users to avoid peak hours

AMSTERDAM—TenneT, the Dutch electric grid operator, said on Thursday it was looking into asking customers to avoid using the grid during peak hours in exchange for compensation, as a way to free up capacity. TenneT, which is also Germany’s biggest grid operator, is struggling to keep up with grid usage and demand for new connections. In addition to a 10-year, 13-billion-euro ($13.5-billion) investment plan in the Dutch land grid, it is engaged in a 30-billion-euro build-out of sea-to-land infrastructure for offshore wind farms planned by the Dutch and German governments. The operator said it was conducting a market consultation to identify customers that would be willing to participate in a peak-hours scheme to reduce grid congestion.