One quarter hour sets your grid costs: peak and contracted capacity
By Maarten Alta · 8 November 2026
On a large business grid connection (in the Netherlands: above 3 × 80 amps), you don't pay the grid operator only per kWh. A large part of your grid costs depends on capacity: how many kW you draw at most. And that is measured per quarter hour. One busy quarter hour can set your grid costs for the whole month.
Two capacity charges
In the Netherlands, your grid operator charges for two capacities:
- Contracted capacity. The capacity you agreed with the grid operator. You pay a fixed amount per kW every month.
- Monthly peak (kWmax). Your highest average power over a quarter hour in that month. You pay per kW, every month again.
At Liander, one of the large Dutch grid operators, the 2026 rates are, excluding VAT:
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Contracted capacity (MV/LV transformer, 50 to 136 kW) | € 3.74 per kW per month |
| Contracted capacity (MV, 136 to 2,000 kW) | € 2.29 per kW per month |
| Monthly peak (kWmax) | € 3.57 per kW per month |
Other grid operators, in the Netherlands and elsewhere, often use similar peak-based charges.
What charging does to it
Say your building currently peaks at 120 kW. You start charging four electric trucks, and without control they all charge at 50 kW at 17:00. Your monthly peak then becomes 320 kW instead of 120 kW. At € 3.57 per kW, that's over € 700 a month extra, just for the peak. Even if it only happens once that month.
And if you exceed your contracted capacity, your contract often has to go up. You then pay for that every month, and with grid congestion you may not even get it.
Charge the same trucks spread over the night, when the building uses little, and your peak stays around 120 kW. The energy is the same; the grid costs are not.
How to keep the peak low
- Spread charging over the evening and night with load balancing. See Charging within your contracted capacity.
- Charge when the building uses little: at night, at weekends, or during the day when the sun shines.
- Don't always charge to 100%, but to what the next trip needs plus a buffer.
- Absorb peaks with a battery that supplies power when it is busy.
- Watch the outliers: a busy Monday morning or a cold week sets your peak. So don't look at averages, look at the highest quarter hour.
Your own quarter-hourly data
Your metering company or energy supplier has your quarter-hourly values for the past year. They show when your building peaks and where there is room. The Charging Scan puts your trips on top and calculates per quarter hour what your monthly peak will be, with and without control, and what it costs.
Also read How many electric trucks fit on your grid connection?
Source: Liander, connection and transport tariffs for electricity 2026 (Dutch).