As the power grid in the Netherlands becomes increasingly overloaded, grid operators are looking for new ways to reduce consumption. Dutch power companies have proposed introducing a higher rate for the use of electricity during peak hours.

Peak hour power use in the Netherlands could become more expensive

Last year, Netbeheer Nederland submitted a proposal to the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to charge a lower rate for off-peak power usage. This would then make the use of electricity during busy times more expensive. The watchdog has not yet responded to the proposal.

It would not be a massive undertaking to start charging more for peak hours as many households already have a smart meter that records when a household uses electricity. It is not yet known what the rate would be.

Dutch power companies to save money with peak surcharge

To expand the power grid in the coming years to compensate for the country’s growing needs, power companies need an estimated 200 billion euros. However, Netbeheer Nederlands calculated that with a surcharge on peak power usage, 30 billion euros could be saved.

Over the years, the grid operators have tried to encourage residents to voluntarily cut down on power use during peak hours by doing laundry and turning on the heat pump during other times. This has not yielded the desired results.

With another power company, Stedin, recently urging consumers to use less power during peak periods, several grid operators are leaning towards raising tariffs for high consumption periods, between 5pm and 9pm for example. According to De Telegraaf, the companies believe that too few households change their behaviour without a price incentive.